


A True Fox

by The_Ice_Goddess



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Bee Kagami Tsurugi, Bisexual Female Character, Deal With It, F/M, Fox Miraculous, Fox Original Character, How Do I Tag, I Don't Even Know, I'm Bad At Tagging, Kwami Swap, Marinette Dupain-Cheng Needs a Hug, New Miraculous Holders, No Chloé Bourgeois Redemption, No Lila Rossi Redemption, Not Beta Read, Not chloe bourgeois friendly, Original Akumas, Reviews are love, Sorry Not Sorry, Trixx Is A Girl In This, Turtle Luka Couffaine, Yeah My OC Is Bisexual, adding tags as I go, at least I don't think, identity reveals, marinette dupain-cheng gets a hug, not lila rossi friendly
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-29
Updated: 2020-06-04
Packaged: 2021-03-02 00:20:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 21,438
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23915944
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Ice_Goddess/pseuds/The_Ice_Goddess
Summary: When Vivienne "V" Beaufort transfers to Collège Françoise Dupont, she's hoping for a fresh start. She gets that and a little more than she bargained for when she befriends Marinette Dupain-Cheng.Foxes and akumas and reveals, oh my!Bad summary, hopefully better story.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Luka Couffaine/Original Character(s), Luka Couffaine/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 90
Kudos: 160





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Trying to write another fanfiction. Or just write anything to be honest. I’ve been in such a writing slump. But I got an idea for a ML fanfic and it wouldn’t go away so here I am. So, be warned that THIS FIC WILL NOT HAVE A REGULAR UPDATE SCHEDULE.  
> I usually try to post only when I complete a fic, but I’m hoping getting reviews will encourage me to write on. That being said, if I don’t find interest in this fic or I lose interest in writing, I may delete it on AO3. Idk. ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯
> 
> Some quick notes: 
> 
> ~ There are no Zodiac Miraculous - just assume the episodes that featured people getting Zodiac Miraculous were resolved without them.  
> ~ Miracle Queen did not happen - so, Nino and Alya’s identities are still secret, Master Fu is still active, and Marinette is not the Guardian.  
> ~ There will probably be a bit of out-of-character-ness. If you don’t like that kind of thing, please don’t read.  
> ~ This is an OC insert story. However, I will not intrude on the much-beloved love square. Marinette and Adrien are still endgame in this. I don’t know if we will actually get there in this story, but I just want that to be clear from the beginning.  
> ~ Chameleon happened, but the seats were not switched back, so Marinette is in the back.
> 
> Okay, that’s it for notes! If I think of anything more as I write, I will definitely let you know in the notes.

“...so, please give a warm welcome to our newest classmate, Vivienne Beaufort,” Mlle. Bustier said and Vivienne winced at her full name. She turned slightly to face the teacher.

“Thank you for the introduction, but I usually go by V. I would really appreciate it if you referred to me as such,” she said, hoping Mlle. Bustier was a nice teacher and would allow for it. She remembered at her old school that it took forever for teachers to grudgingly accept her preferred name. Not that it was difficult or anything, they were just sticklers about using either last names or full first names. Luckily, Mlle. Bustier seemed to be a kind person and give V a smile. 

“Of course, V. Thank you for letting me know. You can take a seat in the back, next to Marinette. Let me know if being in the back won’t work for you and I’ll try to come up with a new seating arrangement,” the orange-haired teacher turned towards her desk, probably to write down V’s preferred name, and V faced the class in front of her. The students seemed nice enough, but she would be a fool not to notice the tension between some of them. And she didn’t like the way one of the girls in the front was eyeing her. V’s eyes skimmed over her fellow students until she found her would-be seat in the very back next to a girl with black pigtails. As V approached, the girl gave her a weak smile and V immediately noticed the bags under her dull blue eyes. If it wasn’t for her obvious exhaustion, the girl, Marinette, would be very pretty. Not her type, but still pretty. V set her bag down and slid into her seat next to the pale girl and gave her a reassuring grin. She wanted to make friends, and this was a girl that needed a friend if she ever saw one. Besides, if she was going to sit next to her, she wanted them to be on good terms. 

“Hi, I know I was just introduced, but I’m V. It’s nice to meet you,” V said quietly as Mlle. Bustier began to teach. She pulled out her notebook and began taking half-hearted notes. She would really rather get to know people rather than learn things she had already been taught at her old school. 

“Nice to meet you too, V. I’m Marinette Dupain-Cheng.” V raised her eyebrow. 

“Wait, Dupain-Cheng? Like the Dupain-Cheng Bakery?” Marinette stiffened, as if expecting a blow. V hid a frown - what exactly had happened to this girl to make her so tense?

“Yeah. That’s my parent’s bakery,” she said quietly as she scribbled down some of the things Mlle. Bustier was saying. She seemed to be anticipating some kind of negative response, not that V could understand why. 

“Oh my gosh! I love your parent’s bakery! They have the  _ best  _ macarons in Paris!” V gushed, quietly enough that she wouldn’t be heard by the teacher, but loud enough that Marinette would know she was being genuine. “I fell in love with the chocolate passionfruit ones.” Marinette blinked, but then a small smile and blush grew on her face. 

“Oh… uh… well… thank you! I’ll be sure to tell Papa and Maman that you enjoy their treats.” That seemed to break the ice and Marinette was decidedly warmer and more open than before. V was about to question her about her favorite dessert from her parent’s bakery so she would know what to try next time she went when one of the students sitting in front of them, a black boy with glasses, turned around and shushed them. 

“Sorry!” V whispered apologetically and that seemed to appease the boy, who turned back around to focus on Mlle. Bustier. Marinette giggled quietly and wrote a quick note on the side on her paper, turning it slightly so V could see it.

_ ‘If you want, we can go to the bakery at lunch?’  _ V nodded as enthusiastically as possible, since it had been a while since she had last treated herself. Marinette giggled again and then went back to taking notes. V smiled as she turned to her own notebook. It seemed she was off to a good start making friends. Maybe this really would be the new start that she needed. 

* * *

The morning seemed to take forever to V, but Marinette helped to speed up the time by passing notes back and forth to V. They chatted about nothing important, sometimes even passing notes they had taken from the lecture and giving it to the other when they had missed what Mlle. Bustier had said. V quickly caught on that Marinette was a little lost on the current topic, so since she had already learned it at her old school V helped explain some of the concepts. It was hard to do over quick notes, but Marinette didn’t seem to mind. Finally, it was lunch time and V could talk freely with Marinette without worrying about upsetting the other students or the teacher. V stretched as she stood, feeling her back pop. 

“Okay, I’m going to need to bring a pillow to class to sit on, these seats are awful,” she complained and Marinette laughed. 

“Yeah, they’re not the most comfortable seats in the world. I don’t know if Madame Bustier would let you bring in a pillow though. She might think you would plan on sleeping through her lessons!” V laughed. 

“I’ll have to convince her otherwise then. My back will thank me for it.” Before Marinette could reply, there was a light tap on V’s shoulder and she turned to see a little blonde girl with a pixie cut. 

“Hi! I’m Rose! I just thought I might introduce you to the rest of the class,” the blonde, Rose, said. V smiled down at her, happy to take her up on the offer before another voice rose up. 

“Yeah, since Marinette is apparently too busy to be a good class representative.” A slick voice said and V came face to face with the green-eyed girl that had been observing her from the front row. She was smiling sweetly, but V could feel the tension skyrocket from behind her where Marinette was standing. And V wasn’t sure she liked the way the other girl subtly chastised Marinette when she had done nothing wrong.

“Yeah, Marinette, stop hogging the new girl,” another girl said, this one with bronze hair and a plaid shirt. This girl seemed less hostile than the girl with green eyes, but V still felt unsure about her footing here. There was obviously something going on within the class that she was not privy to. The green-eyed girl stepped up and held out her hand to V. 

“I’m Lila Rossi. Nice to meet you V. And I love your hair - what product do you use?” V self-consciously touched her wavy brown hair. She had always hated her hair because she woke up with chaotic curls and, once she had brushed it, it looked like a floofy, frizzy mess. V envied the girl with the plaid shirt’s put-together curls. Surely this Lila chick was joking? Lila seemed to see V’s confusion, because she stepped forward and tugged at a strand of her hair. V wasn’t sure she liked the sudden closeness. Something told her that this girl was no good, and she was almost positive it had to do with the fake smile Lila was sporting and the thick tension still pouring from Marinette at her back. “No, really! If you’re worried about the frizz, I know some hairstylists that I could talk to. I could ask them how to stop frizz and let you know. They would totally be able to help. But I kind of like your current style. I heard frizzy hair is totally coming back in style in some countries. You can totally be the push France needs to start too! I can totally help. You would be a great model.” Lila smiled cutely the entire time she said all of this and V was now sure that it was fake. Lila had also started almost  _ petting  _ V’s hair and she was not sure how he felt about that. She ended up stepping back slightly, out of Lila’s reach, and raised her hands in a kind of surrender. 

“Uh, thanks Lila, but I’m not model material. I hate having my picture taken. And I’m not really interested in fixing my hair. I don’t do anything special to it, I’m not a big up-do kind of person. I would never use any of the tips and tricks your hairstylist friends would recommend. I just have to deal with the frizz,” V said uncomfortably. Before Lila could respond, V hurriedly turned towards the rest of the class, who were watching the meeting before them. “I would like to be introduced to all of you though!” 

“Of course! How silly of me. Sorry, I totally should have introduced you!” Lila immediately jumped in again. She turned to face the crowd of students and put her hand on V’s shoulder, as if they were old friends. “Okay, that’s Alya, my total BFF,” the girl in the plaid shirt, Alya grinned. Marinette made a kind of sad squeak behind V. “And her boyfriend, Nino. Next to Nino is Adrien Agreste - of course, you know who he is.” V nodded and gave the three introduced students a smile, but Lila had already moved on. “Juleka is next to Rose - wouldn’t they just make  _ such  _ a cute couple?” The two girls blushed. “Then there’s Max and Kim,” the two boys waved, “Ivan, Mylene, Alix and Natheniel,” four more waves, “and Sabrina and Chloe are still sitting in the front.” Lila leaned in close and stage whispered, “Chloe likes to pretend that she’s cooler than the rest of us, but Sabrina is okay.” The orange-haired girl, Sabrina, gave a bright smile upon picking up the easily hearable words and Chloe, the blonde, huffed disgustedly. 

“Hi everyone! Nice to meet you all.” V said hesitantly, kind of thrown off by how Lila just seemed to corral everyone. 

“Nice to meet you too, girl. You can sit with us at lunch. And you should totally take Lila up on her offer for the hair care, she knows all the right people,” Alya said and Lila gave a shy smile.  _ Fake!  _ something screamed in V’s head. 

“Oh, it’s no big deal. V can totally rock the frizz as is. Anyway, you should totally sit with us at lunch. I know how hard it is to be a new student,” Lila simpered, locking her arm around V’s and starting to tug her towards the door. The other students followed Lila’s lead and began packing up for lunch as well. V was very uncomfortable. Something told her that this girl was bad news, but she didn’t really have any proof. Lila had been nothing but nice to her. But she had told Marinette that she would go to her parent’s bakery at lunch to try out her Papa’s new cookie recipe. V glanced back, about to tell Marinette that she would go some other time, when she saw how resigned the other girl looked. The spark that had started shining in her eyes had dulled again and she stayed quiet as Lila practically dragged V away from her. Just seeing how forlorn Marinette looked, V knew she couldn’t abandon her. Besides, her brain wasn’t screaming at her that Marinette was a liar, only Lila. And V was not one to doubt her instincts. She somehow freed her arm from Lila’s octopus grasp and gave her a fake apologetic smile. If Lila wanted to be fake, then so could she. 

“Sorry, Lila. I really appreciate the offer, but I promised Marinette I would eat with her today. Maybe some other time?” as soon as she offered it, V inwardly cringed, but she couldn’t just shake off Lila without being nice to her as well. Everyone seemed to love her. But, as soon as V mentioned Marinette’s name, Lila’s face darkened. It was just for a split second, not long enough that anyone other than V might see it, but it was there. And after that moment, Lila pasted a small, fragile,  _ fake _ smile back on her face. 

“Oh, uh, yeah. Of course. Just.” She leaned close to V again, whispering into her ear, causing V to suppress a shiver. What was with this girl and personal boundaries? “Don’t take anything Marinette says about me seriously. She hates me.” She pulled away, still holding that small, sad smile in place. Some of the other students around Lila were frowning now, at both V and Marinette. It seemed that V had discovered where the tension lay in the class - it was between Lila and her posse and Marinette. V wanted to know more, but she would wait until she could talk to Marinette alone. 

“Have a good lunch. And thanks for introducing me to everyone.” V felt like her cheeks were burning from her giant fake smile, but Lila seemed to buy it and sauntered out of the classroom, most of the students following behind her. 

“Ug, ridiculous. Utterly ridiculous. At least you seem to have  _ some  _ sense, new girl,” Chloe said as she and Sabrina stalked out the door next, leaving Marinette and V alone in the classroom. V turned towards Marinette. 

“Uh. So. That happened.” Marinette gave a tiny, shocked laugh. “Sooo, to the bakery?” Marinette nodded and grabbed her things and V’s things, since Lila hadn’t given her a chance to grab her stuff before she began to drag her away. V thanked her and they began their walk to the bakery. If V remembered correctly, it wasn’t far from the school. 

“Thank you,” Marinette said quietly as they walked. V looked at Marinette, how small she looked huddled over herself. Like she wasn’t used to people sticking up for her. V felt a pang of sympathy. She recognized the look of someone who was being bullied. She had looked the same way when she looked in the mirror when she was at her old school. 

“Of course. What’re friends for?” V said lightly, sending a smile Marinette’s way. She got one back. “Besides, I don’t think I like Lila. Everything about her screamed fake to me. Plus, she doesn’t seem to know the concept of ‘personal boundaries.’” V shuddered, remembering how close Lila had been when she whispered in V’s ear. V was a pretty tactile person, but only with people she knew and trusted. For someone she didn’t know to do something like that gave V the creeps. Marinette sighed from beside her. 

“You’d be one of the only ones.” 

“One of the only ones of what?” Marinette gave her a sad smile, just like Lila had. But this one was obviously real. Marinette seemed like she was trying not to cry, if V was honest. 

“One of the only ones that doesn’t like her. That doesn’t believe her lies.” They had reached the bakery and V frowned at Marinette. She looked… broken. Well, not broken maybe. Just… almost broken. Like she was put together with duct tape and hope. And the hope was drying up. Her eyes were glassy and her lower lip trembled, like she was trying not to cry. V made the quick decision that Marinette needed a hug. ASAP. She wrapped her arms around the smaller girl and gave her one, pulling away to look the other girl in the eyes. 

“Okay, I don’t know exactly what’s going on, but I know that you’re being bullied by Lila.” Marinette opened her mouth, probably to deny it, but V raised her hand, silencing her. “Don’t. I can see it. Anyone with common sense would be able to see it. And I don’t like it. I know we’re not really close, but I’m here to listen if you ever need to talk about whatever it is that is going down in that classroom.” Marinette stared at her for a moment, bluebell eyes wide with shock and maybe a little bit of hope. 

And then she promptly hid her face in V’s shoulder and burst into tears. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for the nice comments pushing me to keep writing. Even just the ones that asked me to update gave me a surge of determination to keep going! 
> 
> Oh, and to the person pretending to be Lila in the comments? I’m not sure whether to laugh or ask you to please stop. Probably both? I get the humor in it, but I’d rather the comments be for readers to contact me.

V froze as Marinette’s tears soaked into her shirt. Then she sprang into action, ignoring the concerned looks of people on the street and herding Marinette into the bakery. Thankfully they were already there. V didn’t know what she would have done if they hadn’t been at Marinette’s home. She immediately caught the attention of the woman behind the counter, Marinette’s mother V presumed. Seeing her daughter in distress and luckily without any customers currently, she quickly rounded the counter and approached the two girls. Her eyes worriedly took in Marinette’s shaking form and then steely gray eyes pinned V with a look that clearly said  _ Explain. Now.  _ V made a face to try to convey her confusion and slight discomfort while still holding the trembling girl in her arms. Marinette seemed to sense V’s discomfort in the face of Mlle. Dupain-Cheng’s questioning and accusing gaze and slowly lifted her head up from V’s shoulder. 

“Maman, V didn’t do anything wrong. She’s my new friend. She helped get me here.” The older women’s gaze softened instantly and she pulled Marinette and V into the back of the bakery, where their home began. V found herself sitting on a plush couch, still hugging Marinette and rubbing her back soothingly. 

“I’m going to get you both some tea. V was it? What kind of tea do you like?” V held back a grimace. 

“I’m actually not much of a tea drinker, Mlle. Dupain-Cheng. If I could maybe just have a glass of water?” V asked hesitantly. The older woman smiled and nodded before quickly disappearing into a different room, probably the kitchen. V turned her focus back to the sniffling girl in her arms. She hadn’t realized how bad the bullying was when she offered to lend an ear, but it must have been pretty terrible to leave Marinette such a mess. While her tears were finally starting to dry up, she still huddled in V’s arms, as if she was starved of physical contact. Mlle. Dupain-Cheng came back to the room with a cup of tea and a glass of water. V smiled gratefully at her as she gently pushed Marinette to sit up and take a drink of the calming tea. 

“Thank you, Mlle. Dupain-Cheng.” The woman gave her a distracted smile, still focused more on her daughter, understandably. 

“Please, call me Sabine. Any friend of Marinette’s is family here.” V thanked her quietly for her approval before Sabine turned back towards Marinette. “Now, sweetie, what happened? Did Lila do something again?” Marinette made a little squeak of embarrassment.

“Maman, not in front of V! She’s new here!” V frowned. 

“Why would that matter?”

“Well, I don’t want you to think I’m trying to poison you against her or something.” V raised a brow. 

“Are you worried I’ll think that, or worried that other people will think that?” V asked rather bluntly, not wanting to beat around the bush with this. “I already told you I don’t like Lila. You don’t need to worry about me. I’m more worried about  _ you  _ right now. You’re the one that started crying at the first sign of support,” V said softening her tone towards the end. Marinette looked down, picking at a loose string on a blanket that they were sitting next to. 

“I mean, I guess… I don’t know. She already hates me. What if she starts going after you too?” Sabine frowned, seemingly about to say something, when the bell signaling the arrival of a customer rang. She sighed before turning to V. 

“Keep an eye on her for me, would you?” V nodded, surprised at the show of trust, but touched as well. Sabine gave a stern look to her daughter. “And we will be talking about this later with your Papa. I hadn’t realized it was getting so bad.” With that, Sabine hustled off to the front of the bakery, leaving the two girls alone. V took a sip of water, mulling over her thoughts. This Lila girl obviously had it out for Marinette, and siding with her would lead V to face Lila’s ire. She wasn’t really comfortable with that, she wasn’t big on huge confrontations, But, at the same time, Marinette was V’s first friend here at the new school and had been nothing but nice to her. And she quite obviously needed someone in her corner. So, V had a decision to make: side with Marinette on this unnamed issue and make it harder to make friends, or side with Lila and make friends easily but leave Marinette in the dust. The second option also had the downside of meaning that V would have to spend more time with Lila, which gave her the creeps. When V thought about it, there wasn’t really a choice after all. Who needed multiple friends if the friendship was built on discomfort and fakery? 

“I think,” V started slowly, watching Marinette blow on her tea, “that I can take care of myself. I don’t care if Lila goes after me. I’ve dealt with bullies before, and while it’s definitely not ideal, at least here I would have you in my corner.” V grabbed Marinette’s hand after she had set down the cup of tea. “We can face Lila together. I’m not going to leave you to fend for yourself when I can help. Though, I don’t know how much help I’ll actually be. I don’t really like big fights,” V admitted sheepishly. Marinette squeezed V’s hand, drawing her attention back to the pig-tailed girl. She hadn’t even realized that she had looked down and away when she admitted to not liking big confrontations. She wanted to help, but she wasn’t sure how much help she would actually be in this. But when she glanced back up at Marinette the other girl was smiling brightly.

“I’m not asking for you to fight her, V. I’m just glad that someone else can see Lila for who she really is and believes in me. You just being here helps a lot.” V smiled back, relieved that she wasn’t being asked to throw down with Lila already. V knew that, in time, she would probably be willing to do it if Lila went too far, but that was way off in the future. When she got to know more about this issue that was still kind of unnamed. Speaking of which…

“Um, can I ask what this fight is all about anyway? How did this all start? I’d kind of like to know what I’m getting myself into,” V said, smiling wryly. So much for escaping bullies when she moved schools. Marinette scowled, her expression fierce. 

“Basically, it’s just that Lila is a liar and I’m one of the only people willing to call her out on it. Everyone else just seems to eat up her lies. Even Alya.” The other girl deflated a bit at that, righteous fury being replaced with hurt. 

“There has to be more than that though! How did you not liking her lies turn into the entire class ostracizing you?” Marinette blinked. 

“You noticed that?” 

“You’re in the back alone and when I mentioned that I was going to hang out with you at lunch, some of the other students outright glared at you. Like you had done something wrong.” Marinette nodded, looking resigned again. V decided she liked the righteous fury on her face better. 

“Yeah. Lila cornered me in the bathroom one day where I told her I wasn’t going to just fall in line for her. She threatened that if I wasn’t on her side then she would turn everyone else against me. So far, she’s done a pretty good job of it,” she said glumly. V’s eyebrows hit her hairline. 

“Seriously!? You won’t bow down to her so-called ‘rule’ and so she  _ threatens  _ you? What is this, some kind of soap-opera?!” Marinette giggled.

“It does kind of sound silly, when you put it that way.” 

“It  _ is  _ silly! It’s ridiculous! What kind of person feels so self-important that they feel the need to actually threaten someone when they don’t get their way? Good lord,” V murmured angrily and was rewarded for her mini rant with another laugh. “Is there anyone else I should look out for?” Marinette sobered quickly at that question. 

“Honestly, yeah. Chloe. She… well. She’s not as bad as Lila I don’t think, but she’s kind of a spoiled brat and uses her dad’s status as mayor to get what she wants. She also used to be Queen Bee, but Ladybug took her Miraculous away after she proved she wasn’t up to the superhero title. For obvious reasons.” 

“Why was she given a Miraculous in the first place if she’s such a bad person?” Marinette winced slightly.

“Well, based on the little news we have of Queen Bee, she wasn’t actually supposed to get a Miraculous. I think Ladybug may have made a mistake and Chloe got the Miraculous on accident.” 

“But, Ladybug kept using her, right? I remember hearing about Queen Bee on Heroes Day.” Marinette nodded, looking uncomfortable. 

“Yeah. I think Ladybug thought that maybe being a hero would help Chloe improve as a civilian. But that didn’t exactly work out.” V nodded, understanding. While the thought had merit, not everyone would benefit from donning a mask, especially when they originally put it on to get added fame to their name like Chloe did. People like that would not improve with positive reinforcement, they needed to face consequences of their actions. Positive reinforcement only worked when the person wasn’t necessarily used to getting praised. 

“Well, it was a nice thought. At least Ladybug didn’t just immediately count Chloe out. She gave her a chance. It’s not Ladybug’s fault if Chloe ruined that,” V said, shrugging. Marinette stood up suddenly, arms waving around in sudden excitement. 

“Exactly! Some people thought that using Chloe after the first accidental Queen Bee outing was stupid, but I think Ladybug was just being an optimist! Everyone has to have a good side, right?” V nodded.

“I mean, yeah. There’s always shades of gray. Nothing is ever truly black and white. That being said, some people really are just bad people sometimes. Not even Ladybug can change that.” V took a drink of her water, watching Marinette pace. “You’re really interested in the heroes I take?” Marinette paused, blushing and stuttering. 

“I-I mean. Y-yeah! Who isn’t, right? They’re real life superheroes!” V smiled, glad to be on a subject that made Marinette happy. Enough talk about Lila and Chloe. 

“Who’s your favorite?” 

“Chat Noir,” Marinette said, no hesitation. V gestured for her to explain further. Marinette blushed but did continue. “I mean, he’s often overlooked because so many people love Ladybug, but he’s just as important. They’re a team. Ladybug has said that she would be lost without Chat multiple times in interviews, but people still seem to think of him as a side kick. It’s so frustrating, since he’s so nice. He doesn’t deserve to be thrown off to the side like that!” 

“Wait, have you met him?” Marinette froze and gave V a deer-caught-in-the-headlights look before laughing nervously. “I mean, yeah. He’s protected me from akumas before.” And then she mumbled something that V couldn’t hear. 

“What was that? I didn’t catch it.” 

“And sometimes he joins me for hot chocolate and cookies on my balcony,” Marinette practically blurted out. She blushed a deep red and put her hands over her cheeks to hide it, but V had already seen enough. V gave Marinette a sly smile. 

“Have a crush on the cat, huh?” Marinette sputtered and denied it, but all the while was blushing up a storm. V grinned. “I’m not too interested in blondes, but I can see the appeal. No shame, Marinette.” The other girl groaned dramatically and mimed banging her head against the wall while V laughed at her expense. After V was done laughing, Marinette turned her appraising eyes on her. 

“Okay, you’ve had your fun. Now who’s  _ your  _ favorite hero?” V hummed, considering her options. 

“I’m honestly not sure. I really appreciate Ladybug and all she does, but I don’t think she’s my favorite. I just really respect her, you know?” Marinette smiled, but didn’t interrupt. “Same goes for Chat, to be honest. I totally agree that he is not a side kick. I mean, Ladybug is the brains behind the operation, but she works better with Chat by her side. And it takes a lot of courage to wield the power of destruction. It must be a heavy burden sometimes for him.” Marinette frowned and nodded thoughtfully, looking past V into the distance as if seeing something that V was unaware of. “I’m not really a fan of Queen Bee for obvious reasons.” A snort from the other girl. “So, that leaves Carapace and Rena Rouge. Both very different heroes.” V paused, biting her lip and trying to sort through all her thoughts. 

“Why don't you think out loud? Maybe I can help you figure it out.” Marinette suggested. V laughed, shrugging. Who knew that Marinette would be this into the Miraculous heroes? 

“Well, I think Carapace is pretty brave as well. To use his power, he has to be in the thick of things to protect people. That being said, I think Rena Rouge is probably the more clever hero, since she has to figure out how to use her power to make a good illusion. While I appreciate Carapace being in the middle of things and protecting people, I think Rena is probably the better hero in terms of intellect, instinct, and power. I think only having one illusion is limiting, but it also means that the fox hero has to really know when to use their power wisely. For Carapace, it’s pretty obvious when to use a shield. Illusions require cleverness and quick thinking.” 

“So, Rena Rouge sounds like your favorite hero?” Marinette prompted after V fell silent. V bit her lip, still considering. 

“I guess? But she isn’t the best hero by any means. I mean, she’s supposed to be sneaky or whatever. So what does she do? Scream out ‘Mirage’ at the top of her lungs. Nice way to let the akuma know there's an illusion somewhere that they need to watch out for.” Marinette let out a surprised bark of laughter, but V just plowed on, picking up steam as she went. “I get that it’s her special power, but that doesn’t mean she has to draw attention to it. I mean, honestly, all the heroes shouldn’t announce that they’re about to use their special power, but most of them can get away with it because it’s not integral to the use of their power. Carapace is honestly the only one that can really shout out his special power with no repercussions because his is pretty noticeable and hard to ignore. Ladybug, Chat, and Queen Bee would probably be better off not shouting their special power - it would give them an advantage in the sense that the enemy might not know immediately what to watch for. But, obviously, the element of surprise is not completely necessary. But Mirage? The whole point of it is to fool an enemy. That’s hard to do when an enemy knows that it’s there.” V scoffed. Marinette stayed quiet for a bit, drawing V’s attention to her. She seemed to be deep in thought. Before V could ask, Sabine reentered the room.

“Sorry for leaving you two alone for so long, the customers just kept coming.” She looked between where Marinette was standing and where V was still seated. “Is everything okay up here?” Marinette beamed at her mother. 

“Yeah, Maman. I’m feeling better now. V’s a great distracter.” V got up and bowed dramatically, earning a laugh from the Dupain-Cheng women. 

“Well, I’m glad that your new friend was able to cheer you up. Are you okay to go back to school today, sweetie? Your father and I would understand if you’re still too upset,” Sabine said, hugging Marinette gently. 

“No, I’m okay. V will be there with me. We can talk more about how the heroes of Paris could improve their skills!” she teased and V groaned in mock annoyance. 

“Oh no, what have I started?” Sabine laughed. 

“I’d get used to it, dear. Once Marinette gets started on a project she is off! Good luck!” Sabine chuckled as she led the two of them back towards the front of the bakery. V glanced at the assorted treats that were arrayed in the fridge counter. She hadn’t really gotten to eat lunch what with everything going on with Marinette. Sabine must have noticed her longing look, or maybe she had heard V’s grumbling tummy, but she laughed and bustled around behind the counter, pulling out some chocolate croissants and bagging them for her. “Here you go, dear. On the house. Thank you for taking care of Marinette. You’ll have to meet Tom some other time. Come back soon!” V thanked her profusely before sharing the bag's contents with Marinette. As they walked back to school together, munching on the chocolatey, flakey, buttery goodness that were the croissants, V was happy to have made a friend in Marinette.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, comments and kudos are love! Feel free to let me know what you thought of this chapter! :)


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey all! 
> 
> So, I had a quick question for all of you - would you mind if I changed up the Miraculous lore a little bit? Like, most of what I want to do can be done without changing what has already happened in the show (except the exclusion of the Zodiacs. We don’t talk about them lol), but I really wanted to change the peacock’s special power. It’s just too much like the butterfly’s power. 
> 
> I’m pretty sure I’m going to do it anyway (lol), but I wanted some feedback on it. Would you stop reading if I change the peacock’s power? And the transformation phrase of the bee hero? I think, for now, everything else I’m keeping the same. I MAY change the turtle hero’s power too. But that’s iffy. 
> 
> That being said, I am definitely adding things lol. Like...new powers? :O 
> 
> Stay tuned to find out more! ;)

Marinette was worried. Sure, she and V were getting along great and she had been super happy this last month with V’s friendship boosting her up, but she was worried. 

Lila hadn’t done anything yet. 

And it really was a  _ yet _ , Marinette was sure of that. Lila had said she would lose all her friends and so far she had made sure her threat had come true. Marinette was sure that Lila wouldn’t allow her even one friend. Lila seemed determined to take away any ounce of happiness that Marinette found. Adrien was a kind of outlier - somehow a part of Lila’s group and still Marinette’s friend. She wasn’t sure how to tell him that his passiveness really hurt her, but with V it seemed things were looking up. But Marinette was positive that this was just the calm before the storm. Lila would try something. Lila would make Marinette look bad. And then V would be swayed to Lila’s side and Marinette would be left alone again. She wasn’t sure she could handle V looking at her like Alya did now. Suspicious. Disappointed. Sometimes even angry. She wasn’t sure she could fight off another akuma if it came her way. And then where would Paris be? What would happen if Ladybug was akumatized? What would - 

She felt a soft object bounce off her forehead and blinked to see V looking at her in concern. She looked to her lap and found a rolled up piece of bread from V’s sandwich.

“You okay?” Marinette shrugged, rolling the ball of bread between her fingers. She didn't want to tell V her worries. What if she was offended that Marinette thought she would be swayed to Lila’s side? What if - “Marinette. Stop.” V frowned, catching Marinette’s fidgeting hands. “What’s wrong?” 

“I just… Lila’s been too quiet,” Marinette said finally, turning her eyes downward. Her eyes caught on Tikki’s where she looked out carefully from Marinette’s bag. The kwami had been her rock since this Lila issue had started. She seemed to know what Marinette was thinking and gave Marinette an encouraging smile. As if she was sure Marinette’s worries were unfounded. V tilted her head down, her long, chaotic curly hair brushing against Marinette’s knees as she made sure to catch Marinette’s downturned eyes. Once she had Marinette’s attention, she smiled. 

“I know you’re worried, and I’m not saying your worries aren’t justified, but you need to relax. Lila will eventually act, that much is probably true, but you can’t predict what will happen when she does. Stressing yourself out beforehand will just make Lila feel more victorious. She doesn’t have the power over you, remember? That’s why she threatened you. You know about her lies, so you’re a wildcard to her. Don’t play into her hands,” V advised. Marinette nodded, not completely convinced, but knowing that V was right. That didn’t mean she wouldn’t be tensed to protect herself from Lila’s inevitable blow. 

“Thanks,” Marinette said quietly, giving V a small smile. V nodded, seeming to know that she wasn’t going to get any further today, and went back to her sandwich. Marinette took a moment to breathe to try to calm herself. Master Fu had been working with her on calming breathing techniques after learning about her near-akumatization So far it had definitely been helpful. She glanced around V’s apartment and once again wondered why there was a lack of… hominess to it. While there were objects of V’s scattered sparingly throughout the apartment, the room that felt the most lived in was V’s room. Everywhere else felt like a house that had just been moved into. Sure, it had knick-knacks and pictures around, but a layer of dust covered them. There was also the fact that she had never met or even seen V’s parents. She had voiced her concerns to her parents, who were also a little worried, but she didn’t feel a month was a long enough friendship to pry into V’s personal life. Besides, V didn’t seem bothered by the empty apartment, so surely it was less of an issue than Marinette was thinking it was. 

“Did you pick up the macarons from your parents?” V asked suddenly, breaking the silence. Marinette smiled and grabbed the paper bag she had placed by her purse when she sat down. They had a routine going: either they ate at Marinette’s house, or they split up to then meet at V’s apartment. V went to make lunch while Marinette picked up dessert from the bakery before heading over to V’s place to eat. 

“Of course. And Papa made your favorite today! Apparently he’s been making the chocolate passionfruit ones more often because of you and they’ve been a big hit,” Marinette said as she passed the pastries over. V immediately unboxed one and took a bite, letting out a small groan of approval. 

“I will take full credit for inspiring your dad to make more of these delicious treasures,” V mumbled beyond another bite. Marinette giggled. She was partial to strawberry macarons, but V had been so enthusiastic about the chocolate passionfruit ones that she had finally tried some. They were one of the few ones she hadn’t tried because she had never had a passionfruit. She was glad she had given them a try, they were really good. Of course, everything by her Papa was good, in her opinion. 

“You know, you should branch out and try other macarons. There’s a world of flavors out there.”

“Of course. I will go on a taste adventure with you. It’ll be a full day event. But, until that marvelous day, I will stick with my favorite.” Marinette laughed and took a bite of her own treat. She made sure to put aside a few for Tikki though. V noticed and gave her a smile.

“Adrien?” It hadn’t taken long for V to discover Marinette’s true crush - she still couldn’t believe V had thought she had a crush on Chat! - and while V wasn’t too fond of Adrien because he allowed Lila and Chloe to get away with things, she supported Marinette’s crush without pushing her to confess, like Alya had. It was nice. 

“Yep. Adrien’s dad is super strict about food, so I try to sneak him some treats every once in a while.” It technically wasn’t a lie. One of them was for Adrien. It’s just that the other was for Tikki, who, of course, V didn’t know about. 

“That’s sweet. Just make sure that you don’t go overboard. If his dad finds out that you’re feeding him, he may be upset.” 

“Yeah, I make sure to only do it at school, where it’s just him and not his dad, bodyguard, or Mr. Agreste’s secretary. I don’t want him to get in trouble.” 

“You don’t want  _ you  _ to get in trouble with your fashion idol either,” V pointed out easily, but made sure her voice was firm. That was another thing that was great about V. She made sure to remind Marinette to take care of herself. She also wasn’t afraid to point out when Marinette needed to take a step back and think about what she was doing, whether or not it was in her best interests or someone else’s. V wasn’t against nice things, not by any means, but she was against hurting oneself to help someone else. She had told Marinette that that was something she had to work on too. That they could work on it together. It made Marinette feel warm, knowing that V wasn’t just pointing out a flaw of Marinette’s and not offering to help. She not only offered her advice, but admitted to having the same issue. Having V in her life was like a breath of fresh air. She was a great friend for Marinette to have. She even had Tikki’s approval, and the little kwami had been very selective with her approval ever since Alya had broken Marinette’s trust. 

“Hey, V?”

“Hmm?” 

“What do you want to do when you grow up? Like, what job do you want?” V looked up from her finished macarons and crumbled up the paper bag with a crinkle. 

“What brought that question on?” 

“Well, you know I want to be a fashion designer. I guess I was just suddenly curious as to what you want to be.” V threw the crumpled paper ball from hand to hand, thinking. 

“Well. I’m not really sure.” V hesitated, as if weighing something in her head, and then continued on. “I would love to be able to help LGBT people though. Maybe as a therapist. I don’t really know.” She shrugged, suddenly looking uncomfortable, which really confused Marinette. Why would she be uncomfortable with such an amazing, helpful choice? 

“That sounds great. And probably perfect for you. You give great advice, but you’re also not afraid to tell the truth. It’s a great idea!” Marinette said, grinning when V perked up again. 

“You really think so?” Marinette nodded. 

“Of course! I know some LGBT people and I know they struggle. I’m not LGBT myself, but I’m definitely an ally. Most of the kids in the class are pretty open to LGBT people since it’s pretty much written in the stars that Rose and Juleka are going to end up together.” Marinette smiled, thinking of the other two girls. While they were just best friends now, neither of them had denied liking the other. But, her smile quickly left her as she realized that V had seemed… surprised that Marinette was so accepting of her idea to help LGBT people when she grew up. “Why wouldn’t I support your job idea? Being a therapist and helping people in need is a great career.” V went quiet, looking at her feet. “V?” 

“Well, not everyone is as accepting as you,” V said quietly. “My old school was really… well. They didn’t support LGBT people. That’s kind of why I left.” Marinette felt like there was more to the story than that. She could practically see the pain painted all over V’s’ face. Someone had really hurt V. Marinette rewound some of their previous interactions together and a side comment suddenly stuck out to her. 

_ “I’ve dealt with bullies before...” _

“V… are you LGBT?” Marinette asked gently. 

“How would you react if I said I was?” V shot back, both hesitant and defiant. 

“I would ask who told you it was a bad thing and something to be ashamed of and then I’d fight them.” V blinked, probably surprised at Marinette’s anger. 

“You… what?” 

“I’d fight them,” Marinette repeated. Then she softened. “V, I don’t care who you love. Love is love. And people who don’t understand that can just… well. They can fuck right off.” V let out a surprised bark of laughter. 

“I don’t think I’ve ever heard you curse before!” V laughed. Marinette grinned. 

“I save it for special occasions.” Marinette sobered again. “Now, tell me what happened. Why were you so hesitant to tell me? It seems like this is a bigger problem than just your school not liking LGBT people.” V deflated and hunched up on herself. Marinette errantly wondered if this was what V was of Marinette when she had first come into class. Had Marinette seemed as small and defeated as V did right now? 

“I was outed. By a girl I thought was like me. She acted like she liked me, and when I finally admitted to liking her, she said she liked me too. I was so excited. We texted all night. The next day, pictures of our conversation were all over the school. She had tricked me into basically outing myself for her, just to out me to the rest of the school. I couldn’t stay there when all the students looked at me like I was disgusting. So, I transferred schools and ended up with you.” V gave Marinette a watery smile, obviously holding back the tears. “Best decision ever.” Marinette scooted over on the couch and gave V a big hug, trying to hold back her anger. Who would be so cruel as to do something like that?! She really wanted to know, but at the same time she knew knowing wouldn’t help anything. She also knew V wouldn’t tell her even if she asked. So, she just sat there and hugged V while her friend got her emotions back under control. 

“I’m sorry, V. No one should have to go through that,” she whispered as she finally pulled back, looking into V’s red-rimmed eyes. V rubbed her hand down her face, trying to erase the tear tracks. 

“Thanks. Sorry. I didn’t mean to dump all that on you.” 

“‘Hey, remember when you said we both need to work on helping ourselves before other people? I think we also both need to work on letting ourselves feel out emotions and ask for help.” V nodded, laughing lightly. 

“Yeah. That’s probably true.” V gave her a genuine smile. “Thanks, Marinette.” 

“Of course.” Marinette glanced at the time, biting her lip in thought. “Do you think you want to go back to school today? Or do you want to skip? I can skip with you, if you want.” V shook her head.

“Nah, I’ll be fine. Besides, your attendance is the one that’s shaky. Thank you for the offer though. We better get going if we’re going to get there on time though.” Marinette gave V another hug before they both stood up and picked up their trash to throw away. By the time they were all cleaned up, V’s face had cleared, almost like she had never cried in the first place. 

“Shall we?” Marinette asked, opening the door and acting like a posh butler. V grinned. 

“We shall.” They linked arms and walked out of V’s apartment, V making sure to lock the door behind her. They walked in companionable silence for most of the way back to school, just enjoying the other’s company and the fresh air. 

“Um, can I ask one thing about you?” Marinette asked before they got there, when they were in a relatively peaceful and empty spot. 

“Sure.” 

“What part of the LGBT are you? Sorry, you don’t have to answer, I’m just curious. But, seriously, don’t feel obligated to answer.” V laughed.

“I was wondering when you’d break down. That’s usually the first question people ask me after I come out. You beat the last record.” Marinette gave V a mock scowl and nudged her. “Okay, okay! Pushy. I’m bisexual.” V lowered her voice on the admittance, but Marinette was glad to see that V didn’t seem hesitant anymore. Marinette was glad that her acceptance seemed to really help with V’s confidence. 

“So, boys and girls?”

“Yep,” V confirmed. 

“Best of both worlds then!” Marinette chirped and was rewarded with another bright laugh from her friend. 


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a note here I guess: Please be kind with your comments. While I’ve only received one comment that hurt (I’ve since deleted it) I would like to remind my readers that I’m writing this to try to get back into writing. It’s been a while. There are bound to be mistakes. While I’m open to constructive criticism, telling me my writing is terrible is not the way to go. It’ll just make me want to stop writing again. Please don’t make me moderate comments. I want my fics to be open for everyone to comment so I can get encouragement, but I don’t want my enthusiasm for this fic to die because of a few mean commenters.
> 
> That being said, most of you have been super supportive of this fic and have shared your love for it. To those reviewers: Thank you so much! I really appreciate it. Each comment telling me how you love V and my story really helps to fan the flames of my writing. 
> 
> Now that that’s out of the way, I want to pose my question from the last chapter again, because, as of writing this chapter, I’ve only had one response to it. 
> 
> So, would you all mind if I change the Miraculous lore a little bit? Specifically, the peacock’s power (because I feel it is too close to the butterfly’s power) and the transformation phrase of the bee (because, come on! Are you telling me there was never a pun-happy bee hero that said “Buzz off!” to a villain? Pfft). I’m probably going to do whatever works best for the story for me, but I would like to know if some changes would turn some readers off of the story. 
> 
> Okay, now with that long author’s note out of the way, let’s get on with the story!

Marinette and V entered the room to see Lila crying, her orange jacket stained an ugly purplish color in one spot. Alya and Rose were comforting her, while some of the others looked on and added their support. As soon as they entered the room, all eyes turned towards them and Marinette felt dread pool in the pit of her stomach. 

She  _ knew  _ that Lila had been too quiet. 

Alya was the first to speak over Lila’s sniffling. “Girl, how could you? I know you don’t like Lila, but this is a bit far.” Her ire was directed solely at Marinette. Lila had apparently left V out of her lie this time. Before she could ask what lie Lila had woven this time, V surprised her by beating her to it. 

“What happened, Lila?” V left Marinette’s side and approached the Italian girl, concern spreading across her features. Marinette’s heart caught in her throat. Surely V didn’t think Lila was telling the truth? After everything Marinette had told V about her?

“Marinette. She...she…” Lila broke off with a sob, covering her face with her hands. But Marinette was sure she could see the other girl grinning beyond her hands. Taking pity on the supposedly upset Lila, Alya finished for her. 

“Marinette apparently cornered Lila in the bathroom during lunch and deliberately spilled some juice on her.” V got closer to Lila’s posse, drawn in towards Lila’s lies. Just like everyone else. Marinette couldn’t believe how easy it seemed like everyone would turn against her. Was she really so untrustworthy? But… V had said she hadn’t liked Lila. Why would she change her tune now? And why would she believe such a vicious lie when Marinette had been with her at lunch? Well… she hadn’t been with her the entirety of lunch, had she? She had split off with V to go get snacks from the bakery. Could V believe she had done it then? 

“And… she threatened me.” Lila suddenly added. Her words were quiet, with a distinct tremble to them, but they sounded like a bullet in the suddenly silent classroom. 

“What?” V asked, just as softly. But her tone had an edge of danger to it. 

“She… she said that she was tired of me taking away her friends and that soon she would make sure I didn’t have any friends left. She warned me not to tell anybody, but I couldn’t just let her get away with it. I knew you all would believe me.” Lila simpered, clutching Alya's hand as Rose cooed at her. The rest of the class turned angry eyes on Marinette and she shrunk beneath them. V included. Except... 

Except V wasn’t glaring. She had a blank face on. And, almost fast enough that Marinette missed it, there was… was that a wink? Was V  _ winking  _ at her? 

“Of course we would believe you, Lila. You’ve done nothing wrong.” Alya soothed, glaring daggers at Marinette. But she could only focus on V. What was she up to? 

“When did this happen?” V asked, her tone still low, as if to comfort Lila. 

“Right before we came back here to the classroom. She must have waited until I came in to meet up with you to seem innocent. Because I know you would never be in on something like this, V,” Lila said, looking up at V and batting her eyes innocently. 

“Maybe we can take a look at the video cameras outside the bathroom and prove to the Principle that Marinette cornered you,” Alya suggested, eyes still burning. Marinette swallowed hard. While she knew Alya was firmly on Lila’s side now, it still hurt to see who was supposed to be her friend be so willing to tear her down. 

“Oh, no. I mean, as long as you all believe me, Marinette’s threat can’t come true, right? There’s no need to get teachers involved.” Lila quickly covered. “But thank you, Alya. You're the best friend a girl could ask for.” Alya hugged Lila around the shoulders in response. 

“No, we should definitely get the teachers involved. Bullying is unacceptable.” V suddenly declared. 

“No, really, it’s okay, V. I’m fine,” Lila brushed off, appearing to try to gather herself up and put on a brave face. “Marinette can’t get to me.” V’s blank face cleared and there was anger hidden there, just behind the surface. 

“Oh, I wasn’t talking about protecting you, Lila. I was talking about protecting Marinette.” The class blinked at her sudden change in tune, but Marinette felt relief fill her. V had just been faking! 

“Wh- what are you talking about?” Lila asked. 

“I’m talking about how you’re lying to make Marinette look bad.” Lila burst into tears again, pointing her manicured finger towards Marinette. 

“You! You told her I’m a liar! I knew you would do this! She’s already making good on her threat!” Lila blubbered. Alya turned to V, obviously disappointed in her. 

“Look, I know you’re new and have been hanging out with Marinette for a while, but you need to listen to Lila. Marinette has been known to be jealous and petty of Lila ever since she got here. If Lila says Marinette threatened her, she did.” V crossed her arms, her stance firm. The rest of the class was watching the scene playout with wide eyes. 

“Oh, really? Where’s her proof?” Alya motioned to the stain on Lila’s jacket. V rolled her eyes. “That’s not proof. Anyone could have done that. Including Lila herself.” Some of the students gasped at V’s challenge. “Did anyone see this happen? No? Then there’s absolutely no proof that it happened unless Lila would like to get the principle involved so we can check the security cameras.” While everyone else was focused on a proud V and a fumbling Alya, Marinette couldn’t help but notice the calculating glare that Lila was sending V’s way. 

“Well, what proof do you have? I saw you leave for home during lunch  _ without  _ Marinette. She wasn’t with you either.” V snorted. 

“Wrong. She was, in fact, with me. She just went to the bakery first to pick up our desserts. So, my proof is that I am a witness to Marinette being at home with me, her parents are witnesses to her picking up the pastries to then come to my house, and any student that had seen us walk in together is also a witness. Lila has nothing.” Before Alya could explode in protest, a quiet voice piped up from the back of the classroom. 

“I saw Marinette walk in with V after lunch. Marinette was with V.” Juleka said quietly, her eyes cast downward. Marinette hadn’t even noticed that she had slipped in after them and silently made her way up to her seat while all this had been happening. Marinette set the goth girl a grateful smile. She knew how hard it must be for her to speak out, especially since Rose was wrapped around Lila’s fingers. 

“See? Proof,” V said triumphantly. “For Lila’s tale to be true, there would be no witnesses of Marinette walking back with me. And even if Juleka hadn’t seen us, it’s Lila’s word versus the two of ours. Lila. Is. Lying.” V punctuated each word clearly, making sure her point hit home. Alya floundered, trying to figure out how V could be wrong. The rest of the class were eyeing Marinette and Lila hesitantly. This was the first time that Marinette had even seen some of them question Lila. V was a miracle worker. 

“If Marinette didn’t do it, then why didn’t she deny it herself?” Alya finally blurted out, eyebrow raised in challenge. The class turned to Marinette. She felt sick under all the stares, but a small pressure at her side from Tikki in her bag reminded her that she was Ladybug and Ladybug always stood up for what was right. 

“Because you wouldn’t have believed me even if I did say anything,” she said quietly. “You still don’t even believe V, who has shared proof with you that I didn’t do it. It’s impossible to argue with someone who refuses to see the truth.” V quickly came over and grabbed Marinette’s hand, giving it an encouraging squeeze. V turned back to the crowd of stunned students. 

“You want to believe Lila’s lies, fine. But don’t attack the people who are smart enough not to fall for them.” With that, V dragged Marinette past the group of classmates - some of whom were actually looking  _ guilty _ ? Would wonders never cease? - and led her to their seats in the back. She only paused to give Juleka a smile and a thank you before pulling out her notebook and getting ready for class as if nothing had happened. 

But Lila was not done. 

“I - I swear she did it! I don’t know how she turned V and Juleka against me, but she did it! I would never lie to all of you!” she whimpered, her crocodile tears turned on full force. Alya seemed to eat it up, as did Rose, Mylene, and Kim, but the rest of the class seemed suddenly wary of Lila. They kept casting glances up to where Marinette sat, trying her hardest to ignore everything like V was. But she could still feel the stares. 

Mlle. Bustier ended the event by coming in and calling class to order, simply asking Lila if she needed to go to the nurse and then tuning out her soft cries when she declined. It seemed even the teacher was used to Lila’s tears by now. The other students trickled to their places, some hesitant to leave Lila so distressed, some thoughtful after seeing that Lila may not actually be telling the truth. 

“I’m sorry for all that.” V whispered to Marinette suddenly. Marinette blinked and looked to her, finding an apologetic gaze. 

“‘For what?” 

“For acting like I believed her. I needed her to dig her own grave and I couldn’t let you know or you would have given it away with your reactions. But when I saw how hurt you were, I went ahead and winked at you to try to calm your nerves. I hope I didn’t mess up too badly.” V explained. Marinette couldn’t believe it. While, yes, she had been nervous that V seemed to believe Lila, V had actually gotten the class to listen and maybe even question the Queen of Lies. That more than made up for pretending to listen to Lila. 

“V, I’m going to bake you a dozen chocolate chip cookies for that. You have nothing to be sorry for.” Marinette paused, waiting for Mlle. Bustier to turn her back to them, and then gave V the biggest hug she could in a short amount of time. “Thank you.” V grinned, quickly returning the hug. 

“Anytime, Marinette. And I look forward to some cookies.” Marinette giggled, her emotions finally settling after that mess. She glanced down into her bag to see Tikki’s bright smile and knew they were both thinking the same thing. 

V had definitely earned those cookies. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that this chapter is a bit shorter - I wrote it after being completely burnt out by college papers. Hopefully, now that I'm done with finals, I'll be able to write more!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We get to meet Luka! :D

“Hey,” Juleka greeted quietly at the end of the school day, obviously trying to ignore how Rose was giving her a hurt look for not siding with poor, innocent Lila. V felt a little bad for driving a wedge between the two girls, but not  _ too  _ bad. After all, it wasn’t Juleka’s fault that Lila was a lying snake and it wasn’t V or Marinette’s fault for having to stand up for themselves. Rose just happened to be on the wrong side of the battlefield, so to speak. 

“Hi, Juleka,” Marinette responded, looking much steadier than she had earlier facing the class. V also gave Juleka a small wave and a smile. 

“I just… I wanted to apologize for not standing up for you earlier. I know you would never do any of the things Lila’s claimed you have and, to be honest, I’m not sure I believe anything else that she says either,” Juleka admitted softly, making sure to not be overheard by the rest of the class that were slowly filing out of the room. “It’s just… Rose is so taken with Lila…” V nodded in understanding. 

“It’s okay, Juleka. I forgive you. I know how hard it is when someone you’re close to falls for Lila’s lies,” Marinette said, patting the other girl’s shoulder with a smile. Juleka gave a shaky one back before turning to V. 

“I don’t think we’ve ever really met. Lila introduced me, but that’s about as far as we’ve interacted.” V shrugged. 

“No offense, but I wasn’t sure who I could trust in the class. Lila gave me a bad feeling from day one and there was a lot of tension right away.”

“Yeah. I totally get it. I’m sorry I was a part of that, but I hope we can start over and be friends?” As an answer, V got up from her seat and held out a hand for Juleka to shake. 

“Nice to meet you, I’m Vivienne, but everyone calls me V.” Juleka gave a small, genuine smile and shook her hand. 

“Juleka. Nice to meet you V.” Marinette was smiling in the background, clearly happy that their pair had, for the briefest moment, become a trio. 

“Do you want to come over to the bakery with V and I, Juleka? We were just going to hang out and V was maybe going to help me design some new outfits.” V rolled her eyes. 

“If by ‘help you design’ you mean I throw out different random ideas you could make outfits themed around, then sure. I help.” Marinette was instantly protesting. 

“You do more than that! You help me a lot with what looks good and what is too much and what color schemes work best and -” 

“So, anyway. You want to join us?” V interrupted Marinette singing her praises before it got too out of hand, smiling at Juleka. 

“Actually, do you think we could hang out at my place instead? I want to be home if Rose stops by, but I also wouldn’t mind some moral support if that happens too.” Juleka shuffled her feet, clearly not sure if she was allowed to make suggestions since she was so new to the group. 

“Of course! I’ll call my parents to let them know I’ll be home later,” Marinette said. There was a pause, and V realized that Juleka and Marinette were waiting for her to confirm that she would ask her parents. 

“Oh, my parents wouldn’t mind, but I’ll text them if you want me to. They're pretty chill about when I get home.” Marinette gave a small frown, but Juleka just shrugged. V got out her phone and texted her mom, asking how her day was, knowing she probably wouldn’t get a response. But she wouldn’t tell Marinette and Juleka that her parents weren’t home. That would probably lead to a nightmare of questions. At least from Marinette. The three of them walked out of the school, Marinette ending the call with her mom, and Juleka led them towards her home. V was surprised to see what and where it was. 

“You live on a boat?” 

“Yeah. I suppose I should have asked if you’re afraid of water or something. You aren’t, are you?” V shook her head. 

“Not at all! I was just surprised. I guess it never occurred to me that people can make homes basically anywhere, even in an extremely populated city like Paris.” Juleka shrugged. 

“It’s not much, but it’s home. Come on up.” V followed Marinette and V up onto the boat and took in her surroundings. Messy, chaotic, and yet very lived in. This was definitely someone’s home and not just a boat they used as a house. “Do you want to hangout out here, or do you want to go down to my room? Luka might be home, I could introduce you, V.” 

“Who’s Luka?” 

“That’d be me.” A voice V didn’t recognize spoke up and V turned to see a boy a little older than them with black hair with blue tips coming up from below deck. “I’m Jules’ older brother.” V almost froze when she took him in. She was the ultimate “Oh no, he’s hot!” meme right now. But she tried to stomp down her sudden appreciation of Juleka’s older brother and play it cool.

“Oh! Nice to meet you Luka! I’m V.” Luka shook her hand, giving her a smile. 

“Just the letter V?” She shrugged in what she hoped was a natural way. Why did she always feel so awkward around cute people?!

“Well, my real name is Vivienne, but I hate it. It sounds so… I don’t know… pretentious? Sure, let's go with that.” Luka laughed and V tried not to swoon. V was pretty sure she was going to blow it. Just like she almost had with… nope. Not going there. But the thought of her supposed-girlfriend-actually-a-bitch calmed her down and made her retreat. She wasn’t ready to fall for someone again. Even someone as cute as Luka Couffaine. Luckily, Marinette took that moment to jump in, so there wouldn’t be an awkward silence. 

“We came over to hang out. Hope that’s okay.” Luka looked over at Marinette and gave her a soft smile. V’s heart lurched despite her supposed retreat. Apparently, Luka liked Marinette. That made him off limits. Letting out an inward sigh, V mourned that all the good ones were either already taken, in love with someone else, or secretly demons. Whichever. 

“Of course that’s fine, Marinette. You’re always welcome. Why haven’t you been coming over to listen to Kitty Section play?” 

“You know how I’ve been talking about that girl, Lila?” Juleka jumped in. Luka nodded. “She kind of turned the class against Marinette. I didn’t want to rock the boat because Rose likes Lila, but I couldn’t take it anymore. So, today I stood up to Lila… kinda.” 

“I’ve kind of been avoiding everyone because they all seemed to be on Lila’s side before today. I’m sorry,” Marinette said, drooping a little. Luka frowned, a flash of anger passing through his eyes before it was hidden under a mask. 

“There’s no need to apologize, Marinette. From the sounds of it, you’ve just been doing anything you could to stay afloat. I’m glad things are starting to look up for you though.” Marinette smiled gesturing at V. 

“All thanks to V!” V’s eyes widened and she made a face, causing Luka and Juleka to laugh. 

“Uh, not really. I haven’t really done anything besides what I did today.” Marinette pouted. 

“You’ve been my friend when it seemed like no one else in the class would! That’s something.” 

“You just needed a little confidence boost, that’s all.” Marinette’s eyes narrowed. Juleka and Luka watched the two of them in amusement. 

“I will keep complimenting you until you admit that you helped me.” 

“Oh god, please don’t,” V groaned. 

“Admit it.” 

“Fine. I helped you by being your friend. Happy?” 

“Yes.” 

“Good lord…”

“You two are obviously close. How long has V been in class?” Luka asked, not even trying to hide his smile at their antics. 

“I’ve been at Collège Françoise Dupont for a little over a month, I think.” V shot a grin at Marinette. “Time flies when you’re being threatened with compliments you don’t deserve!” Marinette mock scowled, looking ready to gear up for more compliments probably, but Luka cut her off before she could. 

“Just move to Paris?” V felt herself close off at the question. She could see the surprise and concern on Juleka and Luka’s face, but ignored it. She decided to keep her answer short and vague. 

“No. I transferred schools. I had a bit of a bullying problem of my own at my old one.” Before either of them could ask, V plowed on. “But that doesn’t matter anymore. It’s over and done with. And now I have friends here!” V sent a bright smile towards Marinette and Juleka, the former sending an understanding grimace her way and the latter looking slightly shocked that she seemed to be included in the friend list. 

“If you don’t want to talk about it, we understand. And I know we aren’t really close, but if you ever need someone to talk to I’m sure Jules would agree that we’re always willing to listen.” Luka said gently, placing his hand on her shoulder. V blinked at him, not expecting the care he seemed to already be offering her. 

“I’d rather just hang out, if you don’t mind,” V finally responded quietly. “Thank you for the offer though, Luka. I appreciate it.” Luka nodded with a reassuring smile and, without further questions, moved on like it was the easiest thing in the world. Cute  _ and _ thoughtful. 

V was doomed. 

“Alright, so do you want me to make myself scarce so you can have some girl time or do you want me to join you?” All three girls said they didn’t mind if Luka joined them and so he went downstairs to get his guitar to play while they chatted. Marinette brought out her sketchbook and Juleka and V sat beside her, oohing and ahhing over each design and sometimes adding some suggestions. When Luka returned, the girls were already laughing and relaxed. V watched as he sat down, close enough that he was with them and could talk, but far enough away to give them space to do their own thing, and started to play a soothing melody. Marinette soon drew her back into talking about designs and color schemes, but V couldn’t help but wonder why Marinette would crush on Adrien when Luka was right there. Maybe she preferred blondes? That would explain her crush on Chat Noir, though Marinette still denied it. 

“Is something wrong?” Luka suddenly asked and V blushed red when she realized she had been staring right at him. 

“Oh, no! I’m sorry, I zoned out there. I was just enjoying your music.” Luka just smiled with a quiet thank you and went back to his music. Marinette nudged V with her elbow and gave her a teasing, knowing look while Juleka fake gagged in the background. 

“Shut up. I really was just thinking.” V hissed, still blushing red like a tomato. 

“About how you want to kiss -” 

“NO! I was actually thinking about how you must have a thing for blondes, since you like Adrien and Chat Noir.” Marinette squawked in outrage, instantly denying it. Marinette easily distracted, V relaxed and allowed herself to just enjoy Luka’s tunes, Juleka’s low voice teasing Marinette, and Marinette’s desperate attempts to prove she was not, in fact, crushing on Chat. 

While part of the day had been a bust thanks to Lila, this was a pretty good ending to it. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I'm having trouble figuring out how to start the next chapter. So, I'm going to pose a question to those of you who are actually reading these author's notes (lol). 
> 
> Would you prefer a little downtime with Tikki and Marinette before some more action happens, or would you rather I jump straight into the action? 
> 
> As always, comments are love! :)


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, side note. Notebook.ai? Amazing. I have the paid version of it so I can make as many things as I want and have all the templates and let me tell you, it’s been so fun inputting everything from this story into it. I think I spent a little too much time making references on there instead of writing this chapter tbh lol. But so worth it. 
> 
> Also, shout out to my friend, Megan, for helping me with this story. She’s not even in the ML fandom and she’s still willing to help me spitball ideas and figure out problems I have when writing. Best. Friend. Ever. 
> 
> And another shout out to imthepunchlord for helping me with stuff that Megan can’t because she IS in the fandom lol. imthepunchlord has amazing kwami swap fics and she is who originally got me into ML!

“Besides that snafu at the end of lunch, I think today was a good day,” Marinette said as she was getting ready for bed. Tikki floated above her pillow, already ready for some shut-eye. 

“I agree. It’s a good thing Juleka has come to her senses about Lila. It’s a good sign! Maybe some of the others will start to see through her too!” Tikki said and Marinette frowned thoughtfully, 

“Maybe some of them. She still has Alya eating out of the palm of her hand though,” she said glumly, remembering how Lila had basically used Alya as her own personal guard dog. Tikki’s antenne drooped a little. 

“Yes. Unfortunately, Alya doesn’t seem to want to see the truth.” Tikki perked up again just as quickly. “But, from what I could see, some of the other students weren’t so sure of her.” Marinette nodded slowly.

“Yeah. Alix, Ivan, and Nathaniel seemed to be questioning her.” Marinette sighed. “I guess all we can do now is wait and hope for the best. And hope that Lila doesn’t try anything else.” Marinette paused. “I’m worried she’s going to go after V now,” she said quietly. Tikki floated over to Marinette and nuzzled her cheek comfortingly. 

“What will be, will be. And V knew what she was getting into. She made her choice to stand by you. I’m so happy you’ve found a friend like her!” Marinette laughed at Tikki’s enthusiasm. But she wholeheartedly agreed. V was a lifesaver and, while Marinette would never wish bullying on anyone, she was happy that V had transferred to her school. Who knows where Marinette would be without V to perk her up? Probably avoiding more and more akumas. 

“I’m happy I met her too,” Marinette said behind a yawn. Tikki giggled and grabbed Marinette’s finger, leading her up towards her bed. 

“‘Come on. Maybe if you go to sleep now, you won’t be completely late tomorrow,” the kwami teased. 

“Hold on, Tikki. I just need to close my window.” Marinette moved out of the little god’s grasp and went to shut her window. It was supposed to get cool tonight. She shut and locked it, but before she turned away she saw a flash of… something in the streets before it was gone. Soon afterwards, the lights went out in her room and, from what Marinette could see, all down the block. Tikki floated toward her, looking out the window as well. 

“Akuma?” 

“Maybe. I can’t really tell. Maybe we should go ahead and check it out. Just in case.” Tikki glanced longingly at Marinette’s pillow but nodded in resignation. 

“So much for getting to bed early.” Marinette patted Tikki’s head.

“We may still be able to do it. It may be nothing. But we should still check. Tikki, spots on!” With a flash of pink light, Ladybug hopped out her window and into the night, hoping that it really was just a power outage - for both her sake and her tired kwami’s. 

* * *

A vampire akuma. A light-sucking vampire akuma. 

So much for her early night. 

Instead of finding a simple power shortage, she had quickly found the streets crawling with the vampire’s minions. She had only caught a glimpse of the main akuma so far, but judging by his lackey’s strength, speed, and durability, this was going to be a tough fight. She called Chat and hoped he could get there as soon as possible, but until then she just did her best to follow the main akuma and avoid the Parisans-turned-vampires that were clinging to the shadows, turning anyone that looked them in the eye to vampires as well. She watched as the main akuma sucked another street clear of lights and laughed. 

“Soon, Night Bringer will turn everything into eternal night! And then he will reign forever!” he cackled. A purple butterfly symbol appeared over his face and Ladybug assumed that Hawkmoth was reminding him that he had to get her and Chat’s Miraculouses too. “I will, as soon as they show themselves,” the latest villain muttered seemingly to himself. Apparently, that satisfied Hawkmoth, because the butterfly mask disappeared. Ladybug took a moment to take in the latest akuma’s outfit. 

Hawkmoth had really gone all out this time. Instead of his usual gaudy and eye-catching designs, this akuma had a simple black and white color palette. Everything but his skin was black. His outfit, boots, hair, cloak, even his eyes were pure black. It made his paper-white skin stand out starkly against both his dark attire and the dark world around him. He really did look like what Ladybug would imagine a light-sucking vampire would look like. 

“Good evening, my Lady.” Chat’s voice came from behind her and she quickly drew him down so the akuma wouldn’t see him. “Don’t worry so much, Bugaboo. I’m wearing black. I doubt he would be able to see me.” Ladybug gave him a look.

“He’s a vampire-themed akuma, I’m pretty sure he has night vision.” Chat’s ears perked in excitement. 

“A vampire akuma? That’s so cool!” Ladybug rolled her eyes fondly at her partner. 

“Focus, Chaton. From what I can tell, he turns people into vampires by looking them in the eyes. The more minions he has, the more powerful his light sucking ability becomes. He wants it to be eternal night. And I’m pretty sure based off of his vampire minions, he is also super strong, fast, and durable. This is going to be a tough fight, Kitty.”

“Okay, so. Don’t look him in the eyes, avoid his minions. Anything else?” 

“I’m… well, I’m afraid you might have to be my eyes if it gets any darker. I don’t have night vision like you. I’m really going to have to rely on you tonight, Chat. So, please, stay focused.” Chat nodded and Ladybug was both surprised and happy to see he was looking serious. 

“Don’t worry, my Lady. I won’t let you down,” he said and Ladybug smiled, flicking his bell gently.

“Great. Now we just need to figure out what the akumatized object is. I can’t see well enough to figure it out.” Chat narrowed his eyes in the akuma’s direction, his slit pupils blown wide to let in as much light as possible. 

“I’m… honestly not sure. Figuring out the object is usually your thing. And this akuma is pretty bare-bones. I’m not seeing anything besides his costume,” he muttered, focused on his target. Ladybug frowned. If they couldn’t figure out what the object was, she couldn’t cleanse it. “Maybe it’s -” 

“Found them!” A screech cut him off, and Ladybug and Chat were on the move, avoiding a seemingly endless amount of vampire minions. Night Bringer laughed as they struggled; he floated closer to watch the fight between his vampire army and the heroes of Paris. 

“This isn’t fair! It’s like our punches do nothing!” Chat exclaimed as he flew back into the side of a chimney after an especially strong punch by a vampire. 

“Durability, Chat! I warned you!” Ladybug shouted as she fended two off by spinning her yoyo into a shield. 

“Behind you, Bug!” Ladybug leapt away just in time, causing the vampire lunging for her to tackle the two she had been fighting instead. Night Bringer cackled in the air above them. 

“If you can’t even fight my minions, how are you going to fight me?” he taunted, landing on the roof. His lackeys immediately formed a wall behind him. Ladybug knew that they would have to escape and regroup. Luckily, Night Bringer was overconfident and instead of surrounding them, had just covered their front. She and Chat could easily escape from the opening behind them. 

“Remember, don’t look him in the eye!” Ladybug shouted at Chat and he lowered his gaze to Night Bringer’s feet. The akuma scoffed and his minions laughed as well.

“Can’t even look at me. How pathetic. You don’t deserve your Miraculouses. I’ll be happy to take them off your hands.” With a speed that left Ladybug reeling, he pounced, grabbing Ladybug and slamming her into the building wall on her left. 

“Ladybug!” Chat cried before anger flickered in his eyes. “Cataclysm!” The black energy bubbled up in his hand and he placed his claws on the ground, controlling it enough that only the section of the building under Night Bringer crumbled. Night Bringer cursed, stumbling under the suddenly shaky ground, before he flew up into the night again. Chat grabbed her hand and they raced away, avoiding vampires that seemed to creep out of the cracks everywhere. They needed to find a safe place. Someplace Chat could de-transform for a bit to feed his kwami so he could transform again. They found an area of Paris still lit - one of the last little sections - and found an alley that Chat could quickly re-energize his kwami. 

“Here, de-transform and feed your kwami. I’m going to summon Lucky Charm so I can maybe think up a plan to bring down Night Bringer before he sucks out the light of this place too,” Ladybug said and Chat nodded, dropping down into the alley while Ladybug walked a distance away so she wouldn’t accidentally see who he was as a civilian. “Lucky Charm!” Ladybug cried, summoning a ladybug-spotted… boomerang? Ladybug looked around, trying desperately to figure out a plan that would use a boomerang. For once, nothing was coming to her. Was it because she didn’t know what the akumatized object was? But she was sure she had summoned Lucky Charms without knowing before. What was going on? While she scrambled to figure something out, Chat jumped back on the roof, transformed and ready to go again. When he spotted the boomerang, he gave a laugh. 

“This vampire akuma is brought to you by the letter ‘V,’” he said between chuckles. Ladybug rolled her eyes. 

“Very funny, Chat. It’s a boomerang, not a…” Ladybug trailed off, looking at the boomerang in a new light. Maybe… it  _ was  _ a V? That could only mean one thing. 

Or, rather, one  _ person _ . 

“Careful, Bug. You only have two minutes left,” Chat warned as her earrings beeped merrily as a reminder. 

“Okay, here’s the plan. I’m going to de-transform and feed my kwami and then go get some help. This is a tough akuma and I’m pretty sure we need an ally.” Chat’s tale wiggled in excitement. 

“Who are you going to call? Probably not Queen Bee I imagine,” Ladybug grimaced her answer. “but are you going to get Rena or Carapace?” 

“I… I’m not sure,” she hedged. She knew she wasn’t going to grab either of them. Alya and Nino had proven that they were not trustworthy and Ladybug was not calling on them. Probably ever again, if she was being honest. But Chat didn’t know about their identities and her issues with them as a civilian, so she was hesitant to reveal that she had made more mistakes in handing out Miraculouses. Chat seemed to think she could do no wrong which, while flattering, was a lot to live up to. “Anyway, while I’m gone, try to stay in the lit areas so you’ll be relatively safe. If those go out, just try to evade and avoid for now.” Chat nodded and bounded away into a lit area. Ladybug dropped into the same alley Chat had used and, after making sure it was indeed empty, de-transformed with a tired, “Spots off.” 

“You’re going to get a helper?” Tikki asked as she took a big bite out of the cookie Marinette gave her. Marinette nodded. 

“Lucky Charm is pointing me towards V. I thought it was a boomerang, but Chat pointed out that it looked like the letter and I’ve never known a Lucky Charm to lead me wrong,” Marinette said. Tikki nodded sagely. 

“It’s good that you trust your Lucky Charm so much. It’s what makes you such a good Ladybug. But,” Tikki paused her eating, looking up at Marinette with big, blue eyes. “are you going to be okay with choosing someone else?” Marinette sighed. 

“Honestly? It’s going to hurt. It’s just a reminder that I chose wrong and that they aren’t my friends anymore or, in Chloe’s case, never were.” Tikki flew up into Marinette’s face, frowning fiercely. 

“You didn’t choose wrong, Marinette. At the time, they were good options. Now you just have to find a better option.” Marinette gave Tikki a weak smile.

“Thanks, Tikki. Okay, spots on!” In a flash, Ladybug was back on the rooftops and sprinting and jumping to get to Master Fu’s place. Unfortunately, it was in the dark side of Paris, so she had to avoid several vampires that caught her off guard since she couldn’t see very well. But she managed to make it there without being turned into a minion or getting too roughed up. She knocked on the door, panting, looking around to make sure she wasn’t followed. It opened to reveal a calm Master Fu, who led her inside without a word. 

“I take it this akuma is a tough one?” he asked, already getting out the Miracle Box from its hidden area in the gramophone. Ladybug nodded with a sigh. 

“We haven't even been able to land a hit on him. His vampire minions get in the way,” she grumbled, kneeling down next to him and the box as he opened it. 

“Marinette Dupain-Cheng, you have to pick a Miraculous to give to an ally you can trust to fight alongside you. Once the mission is over, you must retrieve the Miraculous and bring it back to me. Choose wisely.” Ladybug hesitated. The Turtle wouldn’t do them much good. Sure, it could shield them from the minions, but only for a short while and the shield was useful for damage when thrown but brute strength wouldn't work on Night Bringer. That left the Bee and the Fox. The Bee could immobilize Night Bringer and would get past his durability, but not only would that require close combat fighting, which Marinette knew V wouldn’t be fond of, but also a good view of Night Bringer, and the Bee didn’t have night vision. Not like the Black Cat and the Fox did. So, the Fox. It should have been an easy choice. It  _ was  _ an easy choice. While Ladybug didn’t know exactly how Mirage would help them in this akuma battle, it was the best choice for V and Ladybug had a feeling it was what they needed. 

And still she hesitated. 

“Marinette?” Fu prompted as Ladybug’s hands hovered over the foxtail necklace. 

“I… I know I need the Fox, Master. But the person I gave the Fox to last time isn’t an option anymore. I can’t trust her. She turned on me as a civilian. But…” 

“But you still feel guilty for giving the Fox away to someone else,” Fu finished for her. Ladybug nodded with a sigh. “Hmm. A difficult position to be in. However, it sounds like Rena Rouge betrayed you first. You trusted her and she abused that. As hard as it may be, you must move on. Paris is at stake. While choosing a new Fox to replace Rena Rouge will indeed hurt her, one person’s hurt is not more important than saving the city. And it sounds like you know who you want to give the Fox to now. Perhaps this person will be an even better Fox. You must choose wisely, Marinette. You cannot keep switching who you give a Miraculous to. You must be sure that this new Fox is loyal to you.” Ladybug teared up. 

“I thought Rena was loyal but that didn’t work out. Master Fu, I - I don’t know what to do. I know who I should give the Fox to, but what if she turns out like Rena?” Ladybug whispered. Fu sighed and went over to place a hand on Ladybug’s shoulder in comfort.

“I cannot say that everything will be okay. The universe does whatever it wants. However, I can say that you have thought about this. You didn’t just hesitate because you were afraid of giving away the Fox to someone else, you also hesitated because you wanted to choose the best Miraculous for the person you have in mind, am I correct?” Ladybug nodded silently. “That, to me, means you are considering your options more carefully. I will admit that your first choice for the Fox was questionable to me. She did not match the Fox very well. Perhaps, this is an opportunity to right a wrong and choose a better suited Fox. Either way, if the Lucky Charm brought you to me, then you need an ally. And someone will have to lose their Miraculous for that to happen if you can’t trust the three you gave them to before.” Ladybug looked to Master Fu, then back to the Miracle Box. She was sure V wasn’t like Alya, she had proven that just today! While there were no certainties in life, and especially not in Miraculouses, Marinette had to trust that she was making the right decision in choosing V. Determination surging through her, she picked up the Fox necklace. 

“Thank you, Master Fu. I’ll try not to make any more mistakes.” Fu shook his head with a smile, preparing the smaller version of the Miracle Box to put the Fox necklace into so she could give it to her chosen ally. 

“Mistakes are a part of life, Marinette. Do not strive to not make mistakes, strive to learn from them,” he said as he placed the Fox Miraculous almost reverently down into the box. He closed the lid and handed it to Ladybug. “I trust you, Marinette.” 

“Thank you, Master. I won't let you down,” Ladybug said quietly before getting up and heading to the door. 

She had a new Fox to find. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so, we're finally getting into the good stuff! Woot woot! 
> 
> Question for you all: would you like me to try to post a (badly drawn) picture of what I imagine V would look like as the Fox hero? I have one for myself, as a reference, and I'm going to describe her either way, but I was just curious. Would anyone be interested in that when the time comes? I'm not exactly sure how to do it, but if all else fails I could post it to my Tumblr and then post the link in the author's notes. 
> 
> Anyway, let me know!


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just want to say that, if I actually continue writing this, this will be the longest thing I’ve written in a while. It technically already is - the last fic I wrote was in 2018. But I have so much planned and I’m worried I won’t have the capability to actually write such a long fic. It’s kind of daunting. That being said, right now I am still definitely motivated to write. So, keep those lovely comments coming! :) 
> 
> I’m also happy to note that I seem to have matured a bit in my writing. Before, I was always go, go, go. Like, in the original iteration of this fic, I had V meet a hero in costume by the second chapter. I seem to be slowing down slightly, allowing myself to build things up. No idea how long that will last - I still feel like I write better when something is happening. I’m not so good at downtime writing. Which is why I’m shocked it’s taken until chapter seven for V to get her Miraculous. That’s progress to me. PROGRESS, I SAY!

Ladybug finally made it to V’s apartment and was happy to see a faint light coming from her window. Not a light connected to electricity - V’s apartment was all dark, just like the apartment buildings around it - the light was coming from V’s phone. She seemed to be checking the Ladyblog for updates on the akuma. Luckily, Ladybug knew that the akuma was currently chasing after Chat, slowly taking out the little light that was left in Paris to trap him in a dark corner. Ladybug knew Chat could take care of himself, but she still wanted to help her partner out of his current predicament as soon as possible. He couldn’t run forever and she wasn’t in the mood to fight him if he was turned into a vampire. 

She tapped on the window lightly, not wanting to wake V’s parents up, and watched as V stiffened. At first, Ladybug was confused at the response, but when she saw V turn around slowly, eyes locked determinedly on the base of the window where she would not be able to catch someone’s eyes, she realized that V thought that a vampire had paid her a visit. Afraid that V might run, Ladybug bent down and waved her hand, hoping the moon was bright enough to illuminate her bright red suit. 

It must have been, because as soon as V saw the hand her gaze shot up in surprise, eyes widening as she took in Ladybug. She scrambled to open her window, nearly tripping over herself in her haste. Ladybug held back a smile. It was nice to know that people trusted her so much that they would let her into their home without question. She was glad V was one of those people. 

“Ladybug! What’s wrong? Is the akuma coming? Do you need to hide?” V asked frantically, eyes still wide. She was tense, but seemed ready to fight off anything that might hurt Paris’s hero. It warmed Ladybug's heart, especially knowing that V wasn’t physically confrontational. 

“No, the akuma is chasing Chat Noir right now. I have a little time before he’ll be in trouble,” Ladybug answered. Naturally, confusion flitted across V’s face. 

“Then what are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be with Chat?” she asked. Ladybug smiled.

“I’m actually here to see you.” 

“Me?” V squeaked in shock. Then she paled considerably. “Oh god, I didn’t cause the akuma, did I?’ 

“No, no! You didn’t. I don’t think you even know the victim,” Ladybug quickly assured. “I’m here for a different reason.” Ladybug took a deep breath. This was it. She was going to give the Fox away to someone who wasn’t Alya. She felt a warmth in her earrings and knew it was Tikki silently supporting her. She looked up to V, not even realizing she had looked down, and found her friend looking at her in concern. 

“What’s wrong? How can I help?” V asked quietly, looking like she wanted to approach the hero but not sure she was allowed. Ladybug knew that, had she been Marinette in that moment, she would have been wrapped in a ginormous hug. Ladybug nodded resolutely. She was making the right choice. She took the box from her side and held it out to the girl in front of her. So similar to the first time she had offered the Fox to a friend, but at the same time so different. 

“V Beaufort, this is the Miraculous of the Fox. It grants the power of illusion. You will use it for the greater good.” V took the offered box, her face a picture of shock. “Once the job is done, you will return the Miraculous to me. Can I trust you?” Ladybug already knew the answer, so she was surprised when she saw hesitance flicker over V’s face. 

“But… wasn’t there already a Fox hero? Rena Rouge? What happened to her?” Ladybug tried to withhold a wince, but from the look on V’s face, she hadn’t done very well. 

“Rena Rouge has been retired for… personal reasons. I need a new ally I can rely on. I have chosen you.” V still seemed unsure, not yet opening the box. She bit her lip, looking from Ladybug to the box in her hands. 

“I just… I’m honored. But… why? Why me?” V asked and Ladybug saw the hesitance she had seen when V had admitted she was LGBT+. It still shocked her every time it showed itself, since V always seemed like a confident person. Ladybug thought of trying to give her reasons, but she settled on being mysterious. She put her hand on V’s shoulder comfortingly. 

“I have my reasons, V. Just know that my Lucky Charm led me to you, and my Lucky Charm has never led me wrong before. I know I can trust you with this.” V gazed at her with an assessing look, probably trying to puzzle out why her Lucky Charm had led her to V. But, finally,  _ finally _ , V nodded. 

“Okay,” she said and, with a deep breath, opened the Miraculous box. 

* * *

The shining orange light blinded V and she shielded her eyes on instinct. When she saw the light fade from behind her eyelids, she opened her eyes slowly, blinking. In front of her was a little… fox. Well, not quite a fox. But it looked surprisingly like a fox. But it was floating in the air and its bright purple eyes shone with intelligence and mischief. 

“Hello there, kit,” the being said, wagging its tail. 

“Uh… hi? What... umm…” V stumbled over her words, not wanting to insult whatever the being was by calling it, well, it. The little creature took pity on her with a laugh, floating higher in the air to hover in front of V’s face.

“I’m a kwami. The Fox kwami of illusion. My name is Trixx. It’s nice to meet you, V,” the kwami? introduced herself. V knew she was gaping like an idiot, but she couldn’t help herself. Sure, she knew magic existed because of the heroes and villains of Paris, but being up close to it was a shock. Still, she tried to recover and gave the fox a shaky smile. 

“Nice to meet you too, Trixx.” She glanced over at Ladybug, who was waiting patiently with a smile. “So, um. How does this work?” 

“Well, putting on the necklace would be a good start,” the kwami teased, giving a grin that showed a hint of her fangs. V blushed and looked at the foxtail necklace nestled in the small box she was holding. She had almost forgotten about it. She took it out and placed it around her neck, handing the box back to Ladybug, who attached it to her waist… somehow. Magic. V didn’t know. The foxtail felt warm against her skin and she fingered it, knowing what a huge responsibility this was. But she was also excited. Ladybug had chosen  _ her _ ! She wasn’t sure she was the right choice, but she would do her best to live up to Ladybug’s expectations. 

“Okay. I’m assuming we don’t have a lot of time to chat, Trixx, but I would like a little more knowledge on how this works. Powers and such,” V said glancing back at the little fox being. Trixx wiggled in excitement. 

“Ooh, I love it when my kits are willing to learn and not just pounce!” she exclaimed happily. 

“Trixx, stay focused. Maybe you can talk to V a little bit after the battle, but there  _ is  _ an akuma that needs taken care of.” Ladybug chided. Trixx simply gave Ladybug an unrepentant grin. 

“Of course.” Trixx turned back to V, eyes bright. V thought she could grow to like this little kwami. She seemed fun. “All you need to do to transform is say ‘Trixx, let’s pounce!’ To de-transform on purpose, say ‘Trixx, let’s rest!’ As for the power, I grant illusions. Mirage lets you create one highly believable big illusion or several small ones. After you use your special power, you have five minutes before you transform back,” the kwami explained patiently. V nodded before a thought hit her. A conversation she had had with Marinette weeks ago suddenly came to the forefront of her mind.

“Do I have to actually shout Mirage when I use it? And do I have to use the flute? I don't know how to play. Plus, music and shouting would give me away if I’m trying to hide,” V reasoned. Trixx seemed pleased with her questions, wagging her tail again. 

“Excellent questions, newbie! You do not have to shout when you use your special power. As for the flute, the magic will take care of your lack of musical ability. It will also take into account that you want to be quiet and will make the tune you play softer. You do have to use the flute though, that is my weapon. It may not be ideal, but neither is a yoyo and Ladybug makes it work,” Trixx giggled, shooting Ladybug a smile. Ladybug simply rolled her eyes, but V could tell she was trying to hold back a smile. It seems V wasn’t the only one fond of this fox’s personality. 

“Okay. I think I got it.” V muttered, gripping the foxtail tightly in one hand. 

“Chat and I will also help to show you the ropes, but most of it will come naturally to you. The magic works in mysterious ways, and when Trixx inhabits your Miraculous, she will also be able to impart knowledge to you through the Miraculous bond,” Ladybug said, before glancing out the window with a frown. “I know this isn’t ideal, but we really should be going. I’m not seeing much light anymore. That means Night Bringer might be getting the upper hand on Chat.” V nodded. 

“You ready, Trixx?” the kwami bobbed eagerly, coming to float right above the Fox Miraculous around her neck. “Okay then. Trixx, let’s pounce!” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PLEASE READ!!!
> 
> I posed this question in the last chapter, but I wanted to ask again because I didn’t get any answers. 
> 
> Would you like me to try to post a (badly drawn) picture of what I imagine V would look like as the Fox hero? I have one for myself, as a reference, and I'm going to describe her either way, but I was just curious. Would anyone be interested in that when the time comes? Or would you prefer to stick to just descriptions? I'm not exactly sure how to do it, but if all else fails I could post it to my Tumblr and then post the link in the author's notes.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And V’s hero debut begins! I’m so excited! :D
> 
> And for those that wanted to see a pic of V as the Fox hero, I’m going to post a link in the author’s note at the end. I also drew Night Bringer!

Ladybug had been afraid that she would confuse V with Rena Rouge once she had transformed into the Fox hero, but while the color scheme and theme were the same, the outfits were different enough that Marinette could definitely tell the difference.

V’s hair had stayed down, but the chaotic curls she had when she didn’t brush it that she had once mentioned to Marinette had made an appearance, giving her almost a halo of bushy, curly hair. Like Rena, the tips of her hair had changed, but instead of white, V’s hair had turned orange. She had ears like Rena, but hers were more triangular like Chat’s or a real fox’s rather than the oval shape of Rena Rouge’s, and were orange on the outside and black with a small outline of white on the inside, instead of the black-tipped orange ears and white insides of Rena’s. Her mask was very similar, save the lack of little black eyebrows. 

The body of the outfit was what had changed the most. While Rena Rouge’s outfit had been tight to her - even the tail had stayed pretty close to her body - V’s suit was a bit looser. Sure, she still had the tight undersuit, but she also had an off-the-shoulder shawl and her tail was a loose piece of fabric attached to her by a thin belt around her waist. It was still close enough to her body that it wouldn’t cause issues though. The undersuit started white at the neck and then turned orange once it reached the thighs. The shawl and belt over the white undersuit were orange. Her arms were completely black, even the parts somewhat hidden underneath the shawl, and she had black ‘boots’ as well, ones that took over from the orange once it had reached just under V’s knees. Her tail started black, surprisingly, but quickly faded to orange and then to a white tip. The Fox Miraculous was hidden under the shawl of V’s outfit, so only a thin line of gold could be seen around her neck. While that might be a problem remembering how much time she had before she de-transformed, it was harder for an akuma to grab it. 

Overall, while V was still very much a fox-themed hero, she was completely different from Rena Rouge. 

And her outfit wasn’t the only thing that was different. It was the way they reacted to suddenly being a hero. While Rena Rouge had been eager to join her favorite heroes in battle she was still somewhat awkward in her new role. Part of that, Ladybug now understood, was that Alya just wasn’t a good fit for the Fox. She was too battle-oriented. Too much in the fray. The Fox wasn’t meant for open combat all the time - only when it was absolutely required. Alya was too direct for what was required of a Fox. 

V though, V seemed to just… fit. While she was obviously a bit uncomfortable in her new outfit, it wasn't because of the fact that V would be more on the sidelines. In fact, when Ladybug told her that she would probably need to stick to the shadows, V seemed relieved. The reason she was uncomfortable in her suit was because she was a bit hesitant about her body. And wasn’t that news to Ladybug! She had never thought that V was self-conscious about her body. Just another thing she was learning about her friend. But other than the self-consciousness, V seemed to adapt to the Fox easily. And had she always had such piercing, intelligent eyes? Had she always seemed to melt into the shadows, somehow in spite of the bright orange and white of her outfit? Had she always been so aware of her surroundings? Or was that the Fox Miraculous bringing out the best in her? 

How had Ladybug not seen that V would be a perfect Fox? 

As they raced along the rooftops, Ladybug couldn’t keep the smile from her face. V had taken to the Fox like a fish to water. While she knew that some of it was the Miraculous magic helping V know what to do as a hero, she knew some of it was V. Rena had never been so focused, so quiet and sure in her steps. She would have to talk to Master Fu about this. He had mentioned that Alya hadn’t been a good fit for the Fox, but Ladybug hadn’t realized how important a good fit was until now. And what exactly made a good fit for a certain Miraculous? Ladybug didn’t know, but now she was bursting with curiosity. 

They finally made it to the lit area where Chat was busy taunting Night Bringer, just out of reach of him and his vampires. Ladybug shook her head fondly. Chat Noir was nothing if not a good distraction. 

“Head down to the alleyway over there.” Ladybug pointed to a small alleyway out of Night Bringer’s sight. “I’ll get Chat and meet you there.” V nodded and quickly dropped down from the rooftops, clearly understanding that Ladybug didn’t want Night Bringer to know she had been brought out. V out of sight, Ladybug swung over to where her partner was still teasing the akuma, much to the akuma’s frustration. 

“Man, you really  _ suck  _ at this!” Ladybug landed just in time to hear that one, and she groaned, catching Chat’s attention. He grinned. “Hey, my Lady! Come to join the fun?” 

“Not quite. Come on, this way.” Ignoring Night Bringer’s enraged screeching that he would be powerful enough to suck the light out of their little area soon to get to them, Ladybug led Chat to V’s hidey-hole. As soon as Chat saw her, he paused, looking back and forth between Ladybug and the new hero. 

“Uh, Ladybug? That’s not Rena Rouge.” Ladybug sighed.

“No, it’s not. Rena has actually been retired for personal reasons. I can’t trust her anymore.” Chat opened his mouth to ask, but Ladybug was already ready with an answer. “Queen Bee and Carapace are also out.” Chat’s ears dropped to his head, clearly upset. 

“Why didn’t you tell me?” 

“We were on a time crunch, still are, but, to be honest, I wasn’t sure about it myself. But I made the decision that Rena and the others can’t be trusted because of some things they’ve done outside of costume and I stand by that.” Ladybug took Chat’s hand, looking into his green eyes, trying to convey her sorrow. “I should have told you. I know. Please forgive me?” She really didn’t want Chat to throw a temper tantrum. She hated when she and Chat fought. Master Fu made it difficult sometimes, making her keep things from Chat, but it was what it was. She needed her partner though, she couldn’t lose him. They were a team. Chat’s eyes softened and he nodded, giving her hand a squeeze. 

“I'll always be there for you, Bug. No matter what.” Ladybug gave him a grateful smile, taking the moment to give him a hug, which he gladly returned. Keeping things from Chat was really beginning to weigh on her. 

“Thank you,” Ladybug whispered, before turning to V, who was waiting patiently with her eyes slightly diverted, as if to give them some privacy. Ladybug smiled at her thoughtfulness. “So, Chat, this is…” she trailed off, realizing that V had never given herself a hero name. 

“Renarde Rusée. Rusée for short,” the other girl supplied quickly. Ladybug nodded approvingly. Still a fox-themed name, but far enough from Rena Rouge that she probably wouldn’t be misnamed. Besides, the name ‘cunning vixen’ worked well for V. 

“Nice to meet you, Rusée. Welcome to the team,” Chat said. 

“Great, now that introductions are out of the way,” Ladybug turned to Chat. “Did you happen to figure out what the akumatized object is?” Chat grimaced, giving her her answer. “Crap.” 

“Well, maybe it’s the cloak?” Rusée suddenly piped up, breaking the awkward silence. Ladybug and Chat turned to look at her. She seemed to hesitate under their gazes, but forged on. “From what I could see of him, his suit is streamlined, like your Ladybug. The only thing I could see that’s out of place is the bulky cape.” Chat frowned, thinking it over. 

“But that’s such a big object. Surely Hawkmoth wouldn’t choose something so big and easily destroyable to put his akuma into?” Ladybug’s mind was working a thousand miles a minute. 

“Unless he was wanting to hide it -” 

“In plain sight! Rusée you’re a genius!” Ladybug finished for her, eyes bright. “Chat, he usually picks something not obvious, like you said, so maybe he’s mixing it up this time. We wouldn’t usually think to go for the cape!” Chat was getting excited too. 

“Which means it’s the perfect place for an akuma!” Ladybug, Chat, and Rusée all smiled at each other. That was when the lights in their section went out, the final bit of light left in all of Paris. The city was officially blacked out. They had to work fast. 

“Okay, Rusée, I need you to create a distraction. Something that will take Night Bringer’s mind off of us. Maybe something with light. If he thinks there’s light, he’ll go for it to try to suck it up and his vampires will avoid it.” Rusée nodded. “Chat, when Rusée makes the distraction, we need to get close so you can rip or Cataclysm the cloak and I can purify the akuma.” Ladybug turned back to Rusée. “I know this is your first time out, but will you be okay making the illusion by yourself?” Rusée looked a bit conflicted, but then her eyes hardened and she nodded resolutely. “Great. Okay, Chat and I will distract him for now so you can get into a good position to make the illusion. Make it a good one! And remember, you only have five minutes after you make it before you de-transform. Hopefully, by then I will have cleared up the akuma and can find you to take the Miraculous back.” Rusée nodded again and then scampered out into the night, quickly being engulfed by shadows. 

“Shall we, my Lady?” Chat asked, holding out his hand for Ladybug to take. She smiled. 

“We shall. Remember, I need your eyes.” 

“You have my eyes and anything else you need,” Chat responded before they jumped up onto the roofs again. They were immediately accosted by Night Bringer and his minions. He glared at the two of them as they kept their eyes slightly averted. 

“So, you decided to finally reappear, Ladybug. I was starting to worry you had left the mangy alley cat on his own.” 

“Never. Chat and I are partners,” Ladybug said firmly, trying to ignore the soft smile sent her way by her Kitty. 

“Enough playing around then. Minions, I order you to -” Night Bringer was cut off as a hiss went through his assembled vampires, all of them shying away from the beams of light that were slowly spreading through Paris. Ladybug, Chat Noir, and Night Bringer all turned to see the source of the light. 

It was the sun.

It slowly crawled out over the horizon, pinks and oranges painting the sky above the bright light as it rose. Ladybug was momentarily frozen in shock. This didn’t look like an illusion at  _ all _ . And sure, that was the point of Mirage, but this was something different. The illusion was  _ evolving _ , turning the sky different colors as the illusion sun rose. How was Rusée doing that? How was she making the illusion move and progress upwards as if it really was the coming of dawn? Rena Rouge had been able to make illusions with Mirage, sure, and sometimes they could move or interact with the other senses, but Rena had admitted that those illusions took a lot out of her. She said that simple sight illusions were much more manageable. Yet, here was Rusée on her first night as a hero, making the most believable Mirage that Ladybug had ever seen. 

Yeah, she was definitely talking to Master Fu about this. 

“Holy shit,” Chat breathed and suddenly the moment was broken. The vampire minions had already made themselves scarce after the first beams of light had shown themselves, but Night Bringer was still there, gazing just as awestruck as the two heroes upon the light. When the moment was broken by Chat, a maniac grin grew on Night Bringer’s face.

“Finally, I can suck the sun out of light and then it will be eternally night!” he cried, black eyes still somehow conveying his akuma-caused insanity. He turned to the sun, raising his arms and letting shadows drift around his wrists. But, much to his shock and Ladybug and Chat’s amusement, nothing happened. “What is this?! I should be strong enough! Why isn’t it going out?!” he raged, stomping his foot in the air like a child throwing a temper tantrum. A butterfly mask appeared in front of his face, and Ladybug just knew that Hawkmoth was telling him that if he got their Miraculouses he would have the power to dim the sun. She needed to act fast, or the window of opportunity that Rusée had created would close.

“Now, Chat!” Ladybug whispered urgently, hoping not to catch Night Bringer’s attention. He leapt into action, jumping up to tear the cloak off of Night Bringer’s shoulders. The akuma shrieked in rage, turning dark eyes on the two heroes. 

“Cataclysm!” Chat quickly summoned his power and touched the cape. Ladybug held her breath, hoping they hadn’t been wrong about the akumatized object. But, sure enough, a little black butterfly flitted out of the destroyed material. Ladybug quickly caught it in her yoyo, cleansing it. Night Bringer quickly fell to the ground, becoming a confused teenager in pajamas. 

“L-Ladybug? Chat Noir? What…?” the boy muttered, looking at them dazedly. 

“Pound it!” Ladybug and Chat said together as they bumped fists. Ladybug approached the disgruntled young adult, crouching down next to him. 

“You were akumatized, but it’s okay. Everything is fine now,” she said kindly, helping the kid to his feet. The kid blushed bright red, looking at the ground.

“I can’t believe I got akumatized over wanting to stay up late. Mom’s going to kill me,” he muttered. Ladybug and Chat laughed. 

“Probably not, she’ll probably just be happy you’re back to normal,” Ladybug said. The kid nodded, looking relieved, before he looked around them, frowning. 

“Uh, but… everything is dark. Paris doesn’t seem like Paris without it’s lights. I’m assuming I did that.” He winced before looking back at Ladybug. “Shouldn't you fix that?” Ladybug glanced at Chat. 

“I didn’t have to summon a Lucky Charm this time around. You and Rusée were the only ones who used your powers.” Ladybug looked out over the dark Paris streets. 

“Rusée?” the teen asked, curious. 

“Renarde Rusée, the new Fox hero,” Ladybug muttered, not really paying attention. “I wonder…” 

“Bug? What’re you up to?” Chat asked curiously, head tilted to the side in his confusion. 

“I’m wondering if I can do Miraculous Cure without needing a Lucky Charm,” she explained. Chat shrugged. 

“Might as well try.” Ladybug nodded, getting out her yoyo. 

“I have to throw something into the air, it feels wrong if I don’t do that,” she explained sheepishly. With that, she threw her yoyo up like she was summoning a Lucky Charm, but instead she shouted “Miraculous Cure!” Ladybugs flew out of the yoyo and cleared up the destruction that had been left in the wake of Night Bringer and, more importantly, instantly returned the brightness to the City of Lights. Ladybug grinned as the city lit up again. 

“Oh, I’m actually not that far from home!” the teen cried, looking down at the streets below. 

“Perfect, does that mean you can get home by yourself okay?” Ladybug asked and the kid nodded. Ladybug picked him up and quickly hopped down and deposited him on the ground, Chat close behind. 

“You aren’t going to make sure he gets home okay?” Chat asked. Ladybug shook her head. 

“Unfortunately, I have to find Rusée to get the Fox Miraculous back from her and you only have a few minutes before you de-transform.” She gave an apologetic look to the teen. “Sorry about that.” 

“No, no, don’t worry about it. You’ve already done so much. I can get home okay. It’s just a few blocks down. Thank you. Thank you both, so much.” The kid paused before looking back at the pair. “Can you tell this… this Rusée that I said thank you to them too? I don’t know them, but if they helped me get de-akumatized then they’re alright in my books.” Ladybug nodded with a smile and the teen walked off. Chat’s ring beeped in warning. 

“I have to get going, Bugaboo. See you on patrol sometime soon?” 

“Hopefully not too soon. I need sleep!” Ladybug grumbled and her Kitty laughed as he vaulted away with his staff. “Okay, now to find Rusée,” Ladybug muttered to herself, swinging up onto the rooftops again and starting the search. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I want to put this out there: I realize Rusée seems OP. I made it that way intentionally, to show the difference between Alya and V. V is special. We’ll get into the how and why later. I understand that a seemingly OP hero may turn some people off my story and I accept that. HOWEVER, I do have a good reason for it. And Rusée won’t be the only one who is powerful in this story. That being said, this is actually an edited version - Rusée was originally too OP for even my tastes. So, this is actually a dialed back version of Rusée’s first night out as a hero. 
> 
> Also, I know I used “Miraculous Cure” instead of “Miraculous Ladybug.” There’s a reason, don’t you worry. All will be revealed. Eventually. 
> 
> And, for those that wanted it, you can find a pic of V, Rusée, and Night Bringer here:   
> https://the-ice-goddess.tumblr.com/post/619112805187141632/the-ice-goddess-this-is-vivienne-v-beaufort


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some interaction between Trixx and V! Can I just say that one of the ML show’s many (many) flaws is that we don’t see a lot of time with the other kwamis? I want to know more about them! I want to see them bond with their holders! I want to get more of their personality! Needless to say, I get to explore that a lot more in my story. :) 
> 
> Also, sorry for the later post. I actually started working on another fanfiction lol. Haven’t posted that one yet, but if you’re an ATLA fan then keep your eyes peeled!

Rusée waited until she saw the pink sparkles of the Miraculous Cure before she called down her illusion and de-transformed with a quiet, “Trixx, let’s rest.” Orange light went down her body and V stood there in her pajamas as Trixx flew out of the Fox Miraculous. V quickly caught the tired god in her hands, looking down at her worriedly. The kwami just gave her a tired, but content smile.

“Great job tonight, kit. That was a fantastic illusion. The best first Mirage I’ve seen in a long time. I haven’t felt this tired in a while!” V frowned down at the obviously exhausted kwami. 

“I’m sorry. Was it too much? You didn’t say there was a limit on the power of the Mirages. I should have asked,” V said apologetically. Trixx shook her head.

“It’s perfectly fine, V. I just wasn’t expecting such a strong first illusion from you. The only limits for Mirage are your imagination and your bond with the Fox Miraculous. The stronger the bond, the more believable the illusion. It says a lot that you have already connected to the Miraculous so well after only one night,” the kwami explained, still sitting in V’s palms. 

“Is there anything I can do to make you feel better? Or do you just need a nap?” Trixx laughed. 

“Oh, a nap sounds lovely. But, to re-energize, I need food. You don’t happen to have anything on you? I’m not really picky.” V shook her head. 

“Sorry, I didn’t grab anything before we left.” She paused. “But, even if I had, where would it have gone when I transformed?” Trixx gave her a cheeky grin. 

“Well, we kwamis can’t reveal all our secrets, but I get the feeling that you’ll be staying around a while, so I might as well tell.” Before V could muster up a protest, Trixx held out her paw, silencing her. “I was kidding, kit. Mostly.” V groaned while Trixx went on. “When you transform, anything you have with you goes into a kind of… pocket dimension, I suppose. It waits there until you call off the transformation and then comes back. That’s where your regular clothes go too. This works both ways. Unless you have something you’re wanting to bring with you once you transform or de-transform, in which case the magic allows you to keep whatever it is.” 

“That seems… convenient.” Trixx nodded. 

“It is. The Miraculouses were made for humans to use. The creator wanted them to be as user friendly as possible without being  _ too  _ easy to use for fear of abuse.” 

“Who created the Miraculouses?” Trixx winked.

“Now we’re getting into the secrets I can’t tell you, kit,” she said, grinning. V sighed, her curiosity burning, but understood. After all, Miraculouses were powerful artifacts. The kwamis couldn’t go around telling just anyone their secrets. They lapsed into a comfortable silence as they waited for Ladybug, V sometimes casually running her thumb over Trixx’s head. Trixx seemed to like the pets because she snuggled down into V’s hand and seemed content to stay there. Soon enough though, V saw a flash of red and she drew one of her hands away from Trixx - to the kwami’s annoyance - and flagged Ladybug down. She didn’t want to call out, for fear of being discovered with a tired kwami in her hands. Ladybug saw her though and landed in the alley. She gave V a big smile. 

“Fantastic job tonight, V. That was a great illusion. You’re a natural.” V blushed under Ladybug’s praise. 

“Isn’t she though?” Trixx added from where she still sat curled up in V’s right hand. V blushed harder. 

“Um, I know you said I need to return the Miraculous -” Ladybug suddenly frowned and V realized that Ladybug thought she was going to try to keep it. She hurried on. “- and I will! But I’m kind of far from home. If Trixx has the energy, could I maybe transform again to make my way home? I can give the Miraculous back to you there.” Ladybug’s frown disappeared and the smile was back. 

“If Trixx has the energy, sure. Otherwise, I can carry you. I’m stronger than I look.” V looked down at the tired kwami. 

“Are you okay without food for a bit? I can give you something to eat at home before I give you back to Ladybug, if that helps?” She glanced at the hero and saw her nodding her assent to the unasked question. Trixx floated out of V’s hand and yawned, flashing her fangs. 

“I think I can last until you get home. I might be more picky though!” she teased. V grinned.

“Well, I don’t have too much, but you can have whatever you want from my apartment. I only hope you find something you like.” Trixx gave her a soft smile. 

“I’m sure there’ll be something, kit. Now transform, Rusée, we don’t have all night.” 

“Alright. Trixx, let’s pounce!” V wasn’t sure she would ever get used to the burst of energy she felt when the magic of the Miraculous covered her. She did notice that the burst of energy was smaller this time, and she assumed that it was because Trixx was already tired. 

“Okay, let’s head back to your place. We’ll be sure to take a different route though, I don’t want people to figure out where you live.” Rusée nodded and followed Ladybug up onto the rooftops once more. It was amazing seeing Paris like this - from above but not too high up. The roofs were just the right height to take in the scene and people from a different angle without them being too small to actually appreciate. Ladybug paused a few times to wave at some people who called her name, but Rusée was careful to not stop for too long. She knew that she would have to get used to the popularity if she continued being Rusée, but, for the moment, she just wanted to enjoy the freedom now that the akuma was dealt with. 

They finally made it to her apartment and they both slipped inside her bedroom window. Rusée quickly dropped the transformation and caught the now sluggish kwami. 

“Foooooooood,” Trixx groaned dramatically, holding her stomach and rolling around in V’s hand. V giggled and headed towards the kitchen with Ladybug following. 

“What would you like? Like I said, I don’t have a whole lot, I haven’t been to the store in a while, but what’s mine is yours.” 

“Do you have any fruit? Raspberries are my favorite,” Trixx replied and V went digging into the fridge. 

“Unfortunately, I don’t have those, but I do have blackberries and blueberries. Are those okay?” she asked, pulling out the boxes with the fruit and turning towards the kwami, who was laying on the counter. Trixx nodded and V set the boxes down beside the kwami. “Here you go,” she said and Trixx dove into the box of blueberries, chowing down. She turned to Ladybug shyly. “Uh, do you or your kwami want anything?” Ladybug blinked in surprise. 

“Uh, actually, I wouldn’t mind something to drink. Just water would be fine.” V got out a glass and served Ladybug some water before turning back to check on Trixx. She snickered at what she found. The kwami had stuffed itself in a short amount of time, her belly bulging slightly. She lay on a pile of blackberries, not seeming to mind that they were staining her fur with their juice. 

“I haven’t had that much to eat in years. I almost forgot how much I loved fruit. Thank you for this glorious feast, kit.” Trixx sighed happily and burped, patting her tummy. V laughed. 

“You’re pretty easy to please, it seems.” Trixx shrugged. 

“Yeah, especially compared to the other kwamis. I’m pretty much okay with anything, though I love fruit of any kind. I could be pickier. I know Plagg refuses almost anything but cheese. The smellier the better.” V wrinkled her nose at the thought. 

“Who’s Plagg? The mouse kwami?” she joked. Trixx and Ladybug shared an exasperated look. At first, V thought it was at her, but then she realized it was at the thought of the cheese-loving kwami. 

“No, Plagg is actually the Black Cat kwami. Chat Noir is his kitten.” 

“Wait, the  _ cat  _ kwami likes cheese?” You would think he’d like, I don’t know, fish?” Trixx chuckled. 

“We’re not actually the animals we look like, kit. These are just the forms we decided to take.” V blushed, muttering an apology for forgetting. Trixx waved it off. “No worries, V.” 

“Well, if you’re done eating, Trixx, then we really should be going,” Ladybug said, rising from where she had sat down on one fo the stools pulled up to the counter. 

“Aww, do we have to?” she whined, her tail drooping and her eyes widening to give Ladybug huge, purple, puppy-dog eyes.

“You know the rules as well as I do, Trixx,” Ladybug gently chided. Trixx merely huffed and pouted. 

“I don’t want to go back in that stuffy old box,” she muttered petulantly. Ladybug removed the small box from her waist and held it out to V to put the foxtail necklace back in. 

“It was nice meeting you, Trixx,” V said before she reached up to take the necklace off. 

“Nice meeting you too, V,” the kwami managed to get out before she disappeared in a flash of orange as the necklace fell away from V’s neck. She placed it gently into the box and then handed it back to Ladybug. 

“Thank you for your help tonight, V,” Ladybug said as they walked back to her bedroom so Ladybug could leave. V shrugged. 

“No problem. Honestly, it was an honor. I’m glad I didn’t let you down.” 

“You definitely didn’t. You make an amazing Fox. I’m sure you and Trixx will be seeing more of each other,” Ladybug said with a wink before waving and climbing out of V’s window. V closed and locked it again, watching until Ladybug was out of sight. Then she collapsed on her bed, mind reeling. 

Had that really just happened? 

Had she really just helped Ladybug and Chat Noir save the day by becoming the Fox hero? 

Was Renarde Rusée real, or was this all some kind of dream? It sure felt real. 

V groaned and buried her head in her pillow. At this rate, she would be up all night. At least she would have an excuse for Marinette when she was tired tomorrow - staying up late to make sure the akuma was cleansed was a common pastime in Paris. She wished she could tell Marinette about going out as Rusée, but she knew that her identity had to be a secret. Just like Ladybug and Chat Noir’s. Just like Rena Rouge’s. She pondered that for a while, wondering what had happened to make it so Ladybug couldn’t trust the old Fox hero. It must have been something pretty big. And it must have been in civilian form, because Chat didn’t know about whatever it was that happened between Ladybug and Rena. Whatever had happened, it had happened outside of the masks. V assumed that that meant Ladybug knew who Rena was as a civilian, just like she knew V. She wondered if Rena even knew she had been replaced by Rusée - it seemed like it had been a split-second decision on Ladybug’s part. She wondered how Rena might be feeling if she did know. And then V thought of something else, something she hadn't caught the entire time Ladybug was with her. 

Ladybug had called her  _ V _ . Not Vivienne. 

Which meant Ladybug knew V outside of costume. 

It seemed obvious, now that she thought about it. Why would Ladybug choose a random person to become a Miraculous holder? But, knowing that V went by V and not her real name meant that Ladybug probably did not just know of her, but had been introduced to her. Ladybug had met her. Which meant, not only did Ladybug know V outside the masks, but  _ V knew Ladybug _ . She knew she was going down a dangerous thought path, but she couldn’t help but wonder.

Who exactly was Ladybug?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dun dun DUUUUUN! V is curious and a curious fox is a dangerous one...


End file.
